The council, led by former Ontario health minister Eric Hoskins, recommends the government create a national agency to draft a list of prescription drugs that would be covered by taxpayers and available in every province and territory. Once fully implemented, the plan will cost $15 billion a year, which would be $5 billion less than what is currently spent on prescription drugs in Canada, according to the report. (CBC)

Talking point: Political leaders had lukewarm reactions to the report. Health Minister Ginnette Petitpas Taylor said she would study the report, but that a pharmacare program would be unlikely to “all happen at once.” Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said Canadians will be skeptical of the plan and that, if he wins the election, his government would focus on lowering drug prices. Hoskins’ plan would give Canadians more employment mobility by eliminating the consideration of health coverage when making career moves. That’s also a blow to insurance companies, which currently cover about 25 million Canadians through their workplace benefits plans, according to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, which has urged the government to maintain a public-private system. That system leaves about a fifth of Canadians without coverage, which the single-payer plan aims to capture.