(OTTAWA) The Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut all signed on Thursday to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s health funding offer, leaving Quebec the only one excluded from the new agreements.
Trudeau presented his offer to provincial and territorial premiers in February as local politicians, doctors, nurses and health advocates raised concerns about a national health care crisis.
The deal would see the federal government transfer $196 billion to provinces and territories over the next 10 years in return for commitments to massively improve healthcare data collection and digital medical records.
The offer includes $17 billion in new spending on top of existing federal health transfers and $25 billion for agreements tailored to the specific needs of each province.
In February, the premiers had signaled that they would accept, even though Prime Minister Trudeau’s offer fell far short of what they had hoped for.
Territorial leaders hinted they were disappointed with the offer and called on the federal government to invest more in the Territorial Health Investment Fund, which helps pay for medical travel and other delivery costs health care in the North.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said there was a breakthrough in negotiations with the territories after the federal government agreed to invest $350 million in the fund over the next 10 years.
The health care needs in the territories are significant. The costs of meeting these needs are also very high for all sorts of obvious reasons.
Jean-Yves Duclos during an online press conference
The costs of hiring workers can be higher and many northern communities are more isolated, he pointed out. There are also many First Nations and Indigenous communities that have been underserved by public health care over the years.
The latest agreements make Quebec the last province to stand up to the new conditions that the federal government has imposed for obtaining funding.
Each province that signs the accord has been tasked with coming up with an “action plan” that includes measurable goals and timelines for improving health care.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault was one of the most vocal provincial leaders calling for a deal with Ottawa, but bristled at having to report to Ottawa on meeting certain targets.
Mr. Duclos said his office was still negotiating with Quebec.
“There were back and forths,” Duclos said of the talks. We know how important it is for Quebecers to benefit from the additional federal investment to support patients and workers in the province. »
Ottawa has not yet received any targets or timelines from the provinces, and the additional funding will not flow until that happens.
The federal government hopes to have the action plans in hand before the end of the fiscal year in March, so that the money set aside in the 2023 budget can be distributed quickly.
In the meantime, the federal government has distributed $2 billion among the provinces, including Quebec, to meet urgent needs.
Premiers hoped Justin Trudeau’s offer could be seen as a down payment on long-term health talks to negotiate a more sustained stream of funding.
The annual Summer First Ministers Gathering will take place in Winnipeg next week and health care funding will definitely be on the Council of the Federation agenda.
Mr. Duclos said Thursday that the Liberal government was ready to renegotiate the tailor-made individual agreements with each province once the three-year period is over.