(Montreal) Prime Minister François Legault’s office issued a statement Thursday after his Ontario counterpart, Doug Ford, mentioned the day before that he was ready to accept certain conditions from the Government of Canada if he granted his province more funding for health care.
The Prime Minister’s press secretary, Ewan Sauves, wrote: “We are ready to continue sharing all of our data, which we are already collecting to provide Quebecers with an efficient and effective health system. For us, data sharing is about transparency and it doesn’t have to be a condition.
Mr. Sauves concludes the statement by saying: “It is high time for Mr. Trudeau to agree to meet with the Prime Ministers to finally reach an agreement. »
Already, last month, after a meeting with his counterpart Justin Trudeau, the Premier of Quebec said he was more optimistic about the possibility of concluding an agreement on the financing of health care.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ford argued in a scrum that he could be open under certain conditions set by the Government of Canada.
For its part, Ottawa wants provinces and territories to agree on national data sharing to improve patient outcomes. Prime Minister Trudeau recently indicated that increased funding will only happen if provinces and territories agree to reform and improve their health care systems.
In the office of the federal Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, the spokesperson, Marie-France Proulx, affirmed that the work continued to conclude an agreement with the provinces and the territories.
Premiers and health ministers across the country have long called for the Canada Health Transfer to cover 35% of the cost of care provided in Canada, up from the current 22% . And in the past, the premiers of the provinces and territories have announced in unison that they do not want any strings attached to the additional funding.
The most recent statement by Prime Minister Legault on the transfer of data to the Government of Canada in exchange for additional health funds, however, displeased the opposition of Quebec solidaire (QS).
In a brief statement sent Thursday morning, MP Sol Zanetti criticized Premier Legault for “capitulating on the health transfer file because he is unable to get anything from Ottawa. This is a dangerous precedent. […] To submit to conditions in order to have money is to open the door to having to accept Canada-wide wall-to-wall standards that do not correspond to our needs and our reality. ”
The MNA for Jean-Lesage added that “the conversion of [François] Legault to Canadian federalism is costing us dearly”.