The provincial and territorial premiers are hammering home, once again, their demand for an increase in health transfers to increase the federal contribution from 22% to 35%.
“Public health services are valuable to all of us, but they need to be fed, and there is a need for an influx of money from Ottawa, not as money that belongs to Ottawa, but as Canadians’ money,” British Columbia Premier John Horgan, who chairs the Council of the Federation, said after meeting virtually with his counterparts on Friday.
“We need a significant long-term increase in funding to meet the challenges of coming out of this pandemic and to deliver the services people expect and deserve,” he added.
His Quebec counterpart, François Legault, pointed out that the increase requested for more than two years represents an increase of $28 billion in the first year.
He argued that the aging of the population means that health spending is increasing faster than other costs absorbed by the provinces and that the federal government must do more.
“It is absolutely necessary [et] it’s a priority across Canada,” he insisted.
“We are asking that these transfers be made unconditionally because it is the provinces and territories that know best where to invest, what the priorities will be,” reiterated Mr. Legault.
For Quebec, the requested increase would represent an additional $6 billion annually.
The federal government has repeatedly maintained that it wants to discuss health transfers, but only once the pandemic is over.
Prime Minister Horgan and his counterparts pleaded instead that a meeting on this subject must be held urgently.
In the Commons, during question period on Friday, it was Adam van Koeverden, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, who offered an answer to questions on the subject.
“We have provided $63.6 billion in support for Canada’s health response,” he said, referring to amounts allocated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as for vaccines and personal protective equipment.
During the election campaign, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals pledged to pay the equivalent of $25 billion over five years in health, but for targeted funds such as mental health.