Biden delivers remarks following Trump's win
U.S. President Joe Biden delivered remarks to the nation Thursday in what was his first appearance on camera following Donald Trump’s decisive victory over Kamala Harris.
Danielle and Dustin Howe have been together for a decade. For eight of those years, the New Brunswick couple has been trying to have a baby.
"Trying to be patient. But there's some days where it's, you know, physically, mentally, emotionally exhausting," Danielle said.
Danielle, 30, and Dustin, 35, face infertility. They've spent thousands on drugs, but it's just led to frustration. They're now turning to fertility procedures at a clinic in Moncton, but it's costly.
"We have had to remortgage our house twice. Just kind of, in general, hoping that costs will come down where we can afford, you know, IUI or IVF," Danielle said.
As provincial elections play out in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick this month, there are pledges to provide more fertility treatment coverage.
The Saskatchewan Party is promising a 50 per cent tax credit, up to $10,000 for a first-time fertility treatment. Liberals in New Brunswick vow to cover one full cycle of IVF treatment, while the Conservatives in B.C. pledge to pay for two cycles of IVF after the NDP set aside funding for one round of the procedure in its last budget. In April 2025, B.C. will begin to cover one cycle of IVF.
"My hope is that policymakers are listening," said Carolynn Dubé, executive director of Fertility Matters Canada, who highlighted that one in six Canadians experience infertility.
"When fertility benefits exist, whether you are an employer or you are a province, we know that it attracts and retains young people," Dubé said.
Dr. Marjorie Dixon, CEO and medical director of Anova Fertility & Reproductive Health, said there's a lot of stigma around infertility but the main barrier to accessing care is cost.
"It's a substantial amount of technology and science and expertise and time that goes into this," Dixon said.
The average cost of a single in vitro fertilization cycle in Canada is around $18,000, she said.
"And the reality is that most people will not necessarily get pregnant on their first cycle of IVF," said Dixon, noting patients often have to pay for more than one cycle, plus medications. "There is a dire need for assistance. This is a medical condition."
Seven provinces currently offer some form of coverage, but it's not consistent or complete. Ontario and Quebec fund one round of IVF but Ontario doesn't cover medications. Nova Scotia and Manitoba offer tax credits of up to 40 per cent of a procedure. Alberta and Saskatchewan currently don't provide any public funding for fertility treatments.
The proposals by politicians to increase the coverage comes as data from Statistics Canada shows Canada's fertility rate dropped to an all-time low of 1.26 children per woman last year.
In November 2023, a study of nearly 1,000 Canadian employers found that 53 per cent do not offer any fertility benefits.
Of the 47 per cent of businesses which do offer benefits, less than two per cent offer both drug and treatment coverage for procedures such as IVF, sperm, eggs and testing. The study found the median lifetime coverage limit for fertility drugs is now $6,000.
"So that does create a tremendous amount of inequity in an individual's accessing care. And if you look at the kaleidoscope of beauty that makes up Canada's family landscape, there are a lot of individuals also who might not be seen or heard in this family building plan," Dixon said.
The reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist noted how the path to parenthood can be complicated for a lot of people, including those in the LGBTQ2S+ community, single individuals, as well as those of different ethnicities who might not be able to access care.
Danielle Howe tells CTV News she and her husband plan to first pursue intrauterine insemination before trying in vitro fertilization.
"But it's a less likely guarantee. I'm hopeful but also nervous that in the end we're going to have to do IVF anyways," she said.
She hopes politicians stick to their promises but isn't waiting on an election result to move forward.
"We've been waiting eight years. We have to move on, and we have to make it work somehow," Danielle said.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivered remarks to the nation Thursday in what was his first appearance on camera following Donald Trump’s decisive victory over Kamala Harris.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reviving a special cabinet committee dedicated to Canada-U.S. relations, following Republican Donald Trump's re-election.
Police in a southern Mexico region rife with drug cartel violence have found 11 bodies, including two of minors, dumped by a highway, prosecutors in the state of Guerrero said Thursday.
Wednesday wasn't just a good day for Donald Trump. The wealth of the world’s 10 richest people also soared by a record amount, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.
When a volcanic eruption buried the ancient city of Pompeii, the last desperate moments of its citizens were preserved in stone for centuries.
Police have released video footage showing a suspect shooting a man inside a Markham garage in broad daylight on Wednesday afternoon.
A CFIA official is calling it the 'largest animal health emergency that this country has ever had to face.' A joint IJF/CTV News investigation looks into Canada's response to the bird flu pandemic, and how it's ravaged the country's farms.
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump welcomed a variety of attendees at his victory celebrations in Florida this week, from his family, supporters and political allies to a selection of high-profile figures.
The steaming waters in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, 130 kilometres east of Vancouver, could once be enjoyed in pools known as the Hobo Hot Springs for free — unlike the neighbouring Harrison Hot Springs Resort where users of its pools must be resort guests.
As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.
A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts – not for themselves, but for those in need.
A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.
A Windsor teen’s social media post showing off a distinctive Windsor pizza topping has gone viral, drawing millions of views worldwide and sparking new curiosity about Windsor-style pizza.
Auston Matthews has come face to face with his look-alike. On Thursday, the Maple Leafs star met seven-year-old Grayson Joseph, who went viral for dressing up as an Auston Matthews hockey card.
A Halifax junk remover shares some of his company’s strangest discoveries.
When Leah arrived at work directing traffic around a construction site, she never expected to see a van painted in all sorts of bright colours, and covered in eclectic decorations, including a stuffed moose attached to its roof.