NDP promising free birth control for Albertans if elected in May
Alberta's NDP is promising to follow in the footsteps of B.C.'s NDP and make birth control free if it wins the next provincial election.
Party leader Rachel Notley made the commitment Wednesday morning – International Women's Day – calling provincially covered birth control "the kind of thing that's long overdue in terms of providing equitable access to health care to at least half of Alberta's population."
A government under her leadership would spend an estimated $30 million each year covering the cost of oral hormone pills, contraceptive injections, copper and hormonal IUDs, subdermal implants and Plan B.
Notley estimated Albertans who pay for the pill every month would save $10,000 over their lifetime.
"One barrier to access is cost, right now, so this is about eliminating the cost barrier and providing a much more reliable form of health care to so many women – cis, transgendered, two-spirited – across Alberta."
Health minister Jason Copping said his UCP government is not considering universal birth control.
"We'll look at this down the road, but the reality is at this point in time there is significant access both through public and private plans," he told reporters at the legislature.
"And for those who don't have funding available, we are providing support through Blue Cross plans."
He was asked if the government is not expanding funding for birth control because it may make Catholics mad and replied, "No, not at all," with a laugh.
A little over a week ago, the B.C. government announced it would become the first province in Canada to make prescription contraceptives free beginning April 1.
That province's program is budgeted to cost $119 million over the next three years.
Advocacy group AccessBC says the move will save the provincial government $95 million per year by reducing social spending costs and health-care costs of unintended pregnancies.
Notley said similar programs are offered in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries because "it's good health policy, good economic policy, and it's the right thing to do."
During the event, the NDP also reminded the public that Alberta's government under Premier Danielle Smith downsized the Status of Women associate ministry to the responsibility of a parliamentary secretary and promised to revive the department.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I'm a Canadian': MP named in foreign interference report speaks out, refutes claims
The Liberal MP who allegedly benefitted from Chinese election interference is speaking out against the report, categorically stating the foreign government did not help him in his nomination campaign.

Uber says Ottawa has the worst passengers in Canada
According to new data released by Uber on Tuesday, Ottawa has the worst average rider rating in the country, followed by Toronto and Montreal.
Researchers have created a way to cloak artwork so that it can’t be used to train AI
Researchers at the University of Chicago have made a tool called Glaze which, once applied to a piece of artwork, means that artwork can’t be read and reproduced by AI tools that scrape art online to replicate their style.
So many doctors are being driven away by Idaho abortion ban that this hospital can’t deliver babies anymore
An Idaho hospital has announced that it will no longer be able to deliver babies because the state’s near-total abortion ban — one of the most extreme in the U.S. — has driven so many doctors away.
'A very, very difficult odour': Senate adjourns early after foul smell in the building disrupts proceedings
The Senate adjourned early on Tuesday afternoon after a foul smell in the building caused headaches in the chamber and disrupted proceedings.
Nordstrom liquidation sales underwhelm Canadians as most items marked down 5 per cent
The first day of Nordstrom's liquidation sale began on Tuesday, but some shoppers walked away underwhelmed, as most items were only marked down five per cent.
Second body recovered from Old Montreal building destroyed by fire
Montreal police confirmed Tuesday evening that a second body has been recovered from the building in Old Montreal that was destroyed by a fire last week.
Trump's potential indictment caps decades of legal scrutiny
For 40 years, former President Donald Trump has navigated countless legal investigations without ever facing criminal charges. That record may soon come to an end.
Via Rail apologizes after Muslim man told not to pray at Ottawa train station
Via Rail is apologizing after a Muslim man was told he couldn't pray at the Ottawa train station.