Trudeau to hold health-care funding talks with premiers next month, sources say – National | 24CA News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s premiers will meet in Ottawa subsequent month in a bid to discover a new funding deal for well being care.
Two federal sources granted anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk publicly on the matter say Trudeau will announce the assembly this morning.
The prime minister and his cupboard are on the third and closing day of a retreat in Hamilton, Ont. forward of the return of Parliament subsequent week.
Read extra:
What occurred on Day 2 of Trudeau’s Liberal cupboard retreat in Hamilton
Read subsequent:
Alberta dad learns about son’s demise in Victoria after Googling his identify, discovering obituary
Ongoing negotiations in the direction of a brand new health-care funding pact have been entrance and centre all through the retreat.
The sources say the assembly just isn’t supposed to finalize a brand new pact however fairly to solidify the steps wanted to succeed in such a deal.
A spokesman for British Columbia Premier David Eby tells The Canadian Press the premiers can be in Ottawa Feb. 12 and 13 for a gathering and Trudeau is welcome to hitch them.
The premiers and the federal authorities have been jockeying round a brand new deal for months.
Canada’s well being care system is strained to the breaking level following three years of COVID-19 and a rising scarcity of health-care employees.
The premiers are asking for Ottawa to extend its share of well being care budgets to 35 per cent from about 22 per cent at the moment.
Trudeau and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos haven’t publicly specified how a lot Ottawa is keen so as to add to the health-care funding pie however have stated any new cash would require the provinces to point out how it will likely be used to enhance affected person care.
Read extra:
Duclos optimistic over ‘change in tone’ from provinces on well being funding deal
Read subsequent:
‘Golden Boy’ mummy digitally unwrapped after 2,300 years, secrets and techniques revealed
Specifically, Ottawa needs commitments to extend entry to household medical doctors, finish the lengthy backlogs for surgical procedure, enhance psychological well being care, handle the well being problems with an getting old inhabitants and overhaul health-care knowledge techniques together with digital medical data.
In November a well being ministers assembly resulted in turmoil when provinces refused to simply accept any new funding take care of strings hooked up.
But progress has been made since Christmas and each Ontario and Quebec have indicated a willingness to provide Ottawa what it needs a minimum of in terms of knowledge and medical document expertise.
Ottawa transferred $45.2 billion to provinces for well being care within the present fiscal 12 months and at the moment expects it to extend that to $49.4 billion in 2023-24. The present settlement sees the transfers improve a minimal of three per cent a 12 months, or extra if financial development outpaces that.
Collectively the provinces spend greater than one-third of their budgets on well being care.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stated Tuesday that regardless of financial uncertainty Ottawa is aware of Canadians count on all governments to discover a solution to shield and enhance Canada’s cherished public well being care system.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
