In March 2017, Gaétan Barrette refused to put his signature to the bottom of the “agreement” on the Canada Health Transfer (TCS), preferring to leave it to his colleague from Finance, Carlos Leitão.
Is that in reality, she only had agreement in name. Like other provinces disappointed with its content, Quebec had to content itself with what the federal government offered, which threatened to be even more sparing towards those who balked. “It is not a question of a fractured common front. It is a question of balance of power. Provincial governments cannot leave money on the table. The federal government knows it, ”explained Mr. Barrette.
Let’s say that some provinces had accepted this reality more quickly than others.
At the time, the CAQ strongly criticized the government of Philippe Couillard for what it described as a “cheap strategy”. We will see if that of François Legault will be able to do better or prefer to “leave the money on the table” rather than crashing in front of Ottawa.
The new psychodrama of the TCS will officially begin Monday in Vancouver, where the federal Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, assures that he will welcome his provincial counterparts with a “positive” and “collaborative” spirit. This is also what her predecessor, Jane Philpott, said five years ago, before imposing a reduction in the annual rate of increase of the TCS from 6% to 3%.
The Trudeau government’s sudden conversion to the virtues of budgetary rigor, as illustrated by the economic update of the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, does not sit well with the demands of the provinces, which want the federal contribution to funding health care increases from 22% to 35% of costs, an initial increase of $28 billion, with an annual increase of 6%.
The interview that Mr. Duclos granted to the To have to is indicative of the direction he wishes to give to the discussions, and it is not exactly of a nature to reassure the provinces.
“This debate about dollars and percentage points is a debate that can lead us to futile talk. And the most useful work is to recognize that our health system has chronic challenges that require additional investments in certain files that we know are important,” he explained.
It’s easy to find it “futile” to talk about big money when you don’t administer anything. When you have to manage a budget half of which is monopolized by health expenses, counting the dollars and thinking about the years to come is not a whim. It is certainly not to Christian Dubé, who no longer knows what to imagine to prevent the implosion of the Quebec health system, that we will learn that there are “chronic challenges that require significant investments”.
It is always infuriating to hear a federal minister speak of “our health care system”, when the Constitution clearly specifies that this is an area of strictly provincial jurisdiction. In Canada, there is not one, but rather “several” health systems.
The provinces are certainly in the best position to establish “the issues that are known to be important”. However, it is clear from Mr. Duclos’ remarks that Ottawa once again intends to impose its priorities.
We evoke with a kind of nostalgia the agreement of 2004, when the government of Paul Martin agreed to an annual increase in the CHT of 6%. At the time, the federal budget had been in balance for seven years in a row, which was a first since the creation of the federation. The return to zero deficit in 2027-2028 planned by Mme Freeland remains very hypothetical.
On the other hand, nothing would prevent a return to the principle of asymmetry, under which the 2004 agreement had exempted Quebec from the conditions to which the other provinces were bound.
Nothing, except the centralizing vision of the Trudeau government. During the negotiations preceding the 2017 “agreement”, Gaétan Barrette had already criticized him for having returned to historic “predatory federalism” and for having threatened to penalize the provinces which did not agree to submit to his wishes. .
If Quebec still insists on an “unconditional” transfer, it is to be expected that certain provinces will once again agree to submit to it and leave the so-called common front. Jean-Yves Duclos acknowledged this in a suave way: some of them “are already a little ahead of others” and “may need less time to signal what they want”.
He assures that his government does not intend to use force against the recalcitrant, as a recent text of the Toronto Star thought he intended to, but one can certainly understand the apprehension of the provinces. Scalded cat fears cold water.