It was expected, it is now official: the provincial premiers have sent a letter to Justin Trudeau to confirm their adherence to the ten-year agreement proposed by Ottawa at the beginning of last week.
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Writing in a resigned tone, Premiers Manitoba Premier and Council of the Federation Chair Heather Stefanson explains that colleagues are accepting the federal proposal “considering the urgent needs observed within our health care systems.”
“After almost two and a half years, we are disappointed by the particularly limited scope of this new federal funding,” said Ms. Stefanson, who acts as spokesperson for the provincial front.
“Although this first step is a step in the right direction, it is clear that the federal approach will not make it possible to meet the structural needs in terms of financing health care, nor the challenges of the long-term viability of our health systems, which we face across the country,” she continued.
Remember that Ottawa’s offer is to pay the provinces nearly $4.6 billion more per year. The provinces claimed $28 billion, nearly six times more.
The federal government must now meet one by one with its provincial counterparts in order to complete, within the next two weeks, the piecemeal agreements according to the specific needs of the provinces.
In her letter, Ms. Stefanson asks Justin Trudeau to establish a direct channel of communication with the Deputy Ministers of Intergovernmental Affairs of the provinces and territories to continue discussions and improve, if possible, the agreement over the coming years. .
François Legault admitted this week that he had no way of increasing the pressure on Ottawa in this file, despite a strong mandate to lead Quebec in the last provincial elections.
“As long as Quebecers do not make it a priority, to ask the federal government to increase its health funding, it will be difficult to put political pressure on Justin Trudeau,” he said Wednesday.
The bilateral agreements should be concluded shortly, before the budgets are tabled in Ottawa and in the provinces.