Jean Charest assures that he would not dictate what to do to the provinces in terms of health. But his plan, unveiled Thursday, proposes “national standards” that a conservative observer compares to the interventionist vision of Justin Trudeau. The aspiring conservative leader, on the other hand, is in line with the party he aspires to lead by promising to make more room for the private sector.
A Charest government would rewrite the Canada Health Act to give more “flexibility” to the provinces, which could, in particular, expand the supply of private services. This care would still be covered by the public plan, as are, for example, hip or knee operations in several provinces. Jean Charest recognizes that he would be attacking a “sacred cow” in this way. But he believes that Canada must “learn lessons” from the pandemic and adjust its health systems, to avoid new confinements.
This is also the reason why he proposes “national standards” which would make it possible to recognize, from one province to another, the equivalence of the qualifications of health care workers as well as to accelerate this recognition for workers immigrants (as he did with France when he was Premier of Quebec).
The Charest plan further promises to “create national standards,” in consultation with the provinces, “for collecting and sharing medical data with the goal of tangibly measuring improvements and best practices.”
The former Quebec Premier denies being interventionist in this way. “We cannot impose. These are really provincial jurisdictions, ”he agrees. “Where we have to do work, as the federal government, is to create incentives so that it is interesting for the provinces to sign up to such an agreement,” he argues.
The financial incentive would not be imposed on the provinces. They would be free to waive it, if they do not wish to adopt the standards proposed by Ottawa. “I don’t penalize them. It’s not like I’m taking money away from them. I give them more if they participate in a formula, “said Mr. Charest in an interview on Thursday, while he was in Toronto.
He thus defended himself from wanting to dictate, like Justin Trudeau, conditions for federal health funding.
A slippery slope
Conservative strategist Rodolphe Husny, however, draws the parallel with the Liberal prime minister, who promised national standards for long-term care and gave the provinces $2 billion to help reduce their surgery waiting lists.
“For someone who prides himself on being a former provincial premier who has experience within the Federation, Mr. Charest should let the provinces make their choices. He says it, but then he gives incentives to push them in one direction,” observes Mr. Husny. His plan also aims to “reduce cancellations of surgical procedures” by using the private sector.
Camp Charest’s strategy of presenting several political ideas to stand out from rival Pierre Poilievre is however clever, in Mr. Husny’s opinion, since it will allow the Quebec politician to resume his line of attack according to which Mr. Poilievre is not only offers a “slogan campaign”. The idea of expanding the place of the private sector in health also responds to the traditional conservative discourse and to the will of the Quebec Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.
Pierre Poilievre, for his part, recalled that emergency rooms in Quebec were overflowing and that you had to spend hours waiting there when Mr. Charest was prime minister. “How can you trust him? he tweeted on Thursday. The other candidates did not react on Twitter.
In addition to the pandemic lessons, Jean Charest argues, to support his ideas for reform, that a report from the Commonwealth Fund ranked the quality of health care in Canada behind that of allied countries. A study that Justin Trudeau also cited in his last budget to justify that any discussion on the increase in health transfers focuses first on the “results”.
Mr. Charest is not against this unanimous and “legitimate” request from the provinces to see Ottawa increase its share of financing to 35% – against 22% currently. But the negotiations will have to wait and will depend on the financial capacity of the federal government, he warns, without giving a horizon.
He says he would reject liberal standards in long-term care. His plan also provides for a $10 billion infrastructure fund for hospitals, long-term care centers; a commission of inquiry into the management of the pandemic by the Trudeau government; investments to support the Canadian production of drugs, vaccines and personal protective equipment; and a review of Health Canada’s regulatory process to improve the supply of drugs and vaccines.