Trudeau suggests ‘positive’ news on health-care talks with provinces could come soon | 24CA News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated Monday he hopes to announce “positive steps forward in the very near future” on well being care — suggesting the years-long standoff between Ottawa and the provinces over health-care funding could also be resolved quickly.
Speaking to reporters in Saskatoon after touring a uncommon earth parts processing plant, Trudeau stated the federal authorities and the premiers are “all very much on the same page” about what’s wanted to restore a system on the ropes.
“There’s a need for more money,” Trudeau stated. “There is a need for more to deliver results for families.”
WATCH: Trudeau says he and the premiers are on the ‘similar web page’ concerning well being care
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada’s health-care system wants extra funding and higher outcomes.
Throughout Ottawa’s health-care funding talks with the provinces, Trudeau has stated he wouldn’t provide up any additional cash till the provinces agreed to satisfy sure circumstances.
Some premiers, notably Quebec Premier Francois Legault, have been cool to the thought of circumstances. Some provinces, similar to Ontario, have stated the sticking level is not the attachment of circumstances however moderately the greenback quantity Ottawa is keen to spend.
Echoing federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ demand that any new federal cash be focused at 5 precedence areas, Trudeau stated Monday he needs Ottawa’s cash for use by the provinces to increase entry to major care, enhance psychological well being helps and scale back surgical procedure backlogs.
Asked about Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s plan to ship extra publicly funded surgical procedures — similar to knee and hip replacements — to non-public hospitals to scale back wait occasions, Trudeau stated it is the federal authorities’s job to make sure “the Canada Health Act is always respected.” He signalled, nonetheless, that he is open to concepts that “deliver better services to Canadians in health care.”
The Canada Health Act requires common entry to publicly funded well being companies lined by provincial and territorial plans, and bans consumer expenses and extra-billing.
“We know how important it is to continue to invest in our health-care systems,” Trudeau stated.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who informed reporters Monday he had no advance discover of Trudeau’s go to to the province, stated he needs the prime minister to chop a deal.
“Now is the time for the federal government, the prime minister, to sit down with the sub-national leaders and provide a funding level to make sure that those investments are sustainable into the future,” Moe stated.
Asked whether or not he’d settle for a take care of federal “strings attached,” Moe stated federal and provincial priorities on the file “very much line up.”
“‘Strings attached’ is not the term I would use. Our priorities are most certainly aligned,” he stated.
Moe stated Saskatchewan already has invested in Ottawa’s 5 areas of curiosity, together with long-term care houses and e-health, a program to digitize data.
He stated federal {dollars} would assist the province deal with labour gaps.
“We need more people on the front lines of our health-care system,” he stated, whereas touting his province’s program to rent health-care employees immediately from the Philippines.
During a cease in Quebec, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre blasted the Liberal authorities over its dealing with of the well being file. He stated it is “incredible” that Trudeau has “doubled our national debt without any improvement to our health care system.” (The nationwide debt elevated from $628.9 billion in 2015 to $1.1 trillion in 2022).
“Health care, after seven years of Trudeau, is worse than ever,” Poilievre stated. “I understand why premiers are frustrated with the damage he’s caused.”
Poilievre stated a authorities led by him would pursue three health-care priorities: shorter wait occasions, extra docs and nurses and “faster approvals for new cutting-edge treatments and medication.”
He additionally vowed to work with the provinces to fast-track foreign-trained well being professionals.
Canada’s inhabitants is booming, thanks partially to document ranges of immigration. The nation can also be getting older. Those twin challenges, mixed with COVID-related labour shortages, have strained the nation’s publicly funded health-care system.
To assist stabilize the system, the premiers have been asking Ottawa to dramatically enhance how a lot it spends annually on the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) — the block of cash despatched to the provinces and territories to fund well being companies.
The premiers have made a daring request: they need Ottawa to extend its share of health-care prices from the present 22 per cent to 35 per cent — a multi-billion greenback annual money injection. If enacted, that might enhance the worth of the CHT from $28 billion a yr to $45.2 billion.
The federal Liberal authorities has stated the 22 per cent determine would not mirror the entire funding image.
In 1977, some tax factors have been transferred from Ottawa to the provinces, which allowed them to gather a bigger share of all tax revenues to fund social packages like well being care. Those tax factors, Ottawa argues, ought to rely for one thing.
The federal authorities additionally made a sequence of one-time top-ups to the CHT throughout the pandemic to assist provinces take care of the well being disaster.
At a December assembly of the Council of the Federation, the group that represents Canada’s premiers, Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson stated the prime minister should meet with premiers instantly for “serious discussions” on well being care as a result of it is a elementary precedence for Canadians.
Trudeau has, so far, largely left the health-care negotiations to his ministers.
