The country’s prime ministers will meet on February 13 to discuss federal health funding proposals, but the final amount is not in the negotiation stage, said Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominique Leblanc.
“We’re not negotiating to buy a residential property here. We make a counter offer and then a counter-counter offer,” LeBlanc said. interview Along with CTV question time.
“What we said is that it is a financial commitment that the Canadian government believes it can make,” he said. “This is an important commitment, a long-term commitment, and we have asked each state to speak with us to come up with the best agreement within the financial parameters of their jurisdictions.”
On February 7, the Liberal government offered health transfers totaling $196 billion to states, provided the states transitioned to digital health records and shared medical data collections.
“To access a share of federal funds, including 5% CHT [Canadian Health Transfer] To increase transparency of results and help manage public health emergencies, state and territory governments are asked to commit to improving the way health information is collected, shared, used and reported. It is statement It was issued by the Prime Minister on February 7.
Of that total, $46 billion is new funding, increasing the federal portion of healthcare funding to 24% by 2024.
But the state budgeted $204 billion for health care this year, hoping to increase the federal burden to 35%, or about $28 billion annually. Instead, Canada Health Transfer (CHT) was set at his $45 billion (about 22%). This means, on average, less than $5 billion in new funding each year.
Each state or territory negotiates the details under bilateral agreements and identifies specific priorities in each jurisdiction.
The original Health Canada Act mandated that the federal government provide 50% of health care costs to the provinces, giving them jurisdiction and responsibility for providing health care.
COVID spending
According to LeBlanc, COVID is due to a lack of healthcare funding, which the government has “strengthened massively” and spent an additional $72 billion, “much of which goes to states and territories for the healthcare system.” “It was done.” , the cost of all vaccines. ”
He said the federal government “paid states to administer vaccines and paid states to improve ventilation in schools and public buildings.”
As a result, the government’s fiscal situation “is different than it was four years ago,” he said.
“The deficit five years ago was nothing compared to the deficit we suffered two years ago, last year and this year due to the impact of COVID,” said LeBlanc.
and Press conference Trudeau, Prime Minister of Manitoba after meeting with Premier Heather Stephenson, Chairman of the Council of Prime Ministers Said The offer was “disappointing”.
“In terms of baseline funding for Canada Health Transfer, it’s significantly less than we were looking for,” she said.
Prime Minister agrees to new deal with Ottawa to create ‘action plan’ outlining how funds will be used to improve healthcare on four ‘shared health priorities’ is needed. These include “family health care”. Healthcare workers and backlogs. mental health and substance use; and modernizing the healthcare system with standardized information and digital tools. ”