(Ottawa) Ottawa plans to withhold nearly a billion in additional federal funds intended for Quebec in health matters for 2023-2024 if the province has not signed a bilateral agreement with Justin Trudeau’s government by March 31.
The office of Quebec Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, mentioned this amount in a written statement sent Wednesday, denouncing the “threat of making the amounts expire.”
A federal source familiar with the matter provided similar information on the size of the payment involved, indicating that it is approximately 900 million. The Canadian Press granted her anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the discussions between the two levels of government.
By announcing an increase in Ottawa’s investments in health of 46 billion over 10 years, more than a year ago, Justin Trudeau’s government announced that a portion of 25 billion would go through individual agreements and another through an enhancement to the Canada Health Transfer (CHT).
The share of the overall envelope that must go to Quebec is approximately 10 billion over 10 years, including 4.8 billion coming from a possible bilateral agreement.
“To receive the funding planned for 2023-2024 under individual bilateral agreements, the provinces and territories must sign such an agreement by March 31, 2024,” Ottawa however indicated, as written in its economic statement of autumn.
The federal source added that the TCS bonus guarantee – an annual increase of 5% over five years – is conditional on the expected signature.
As this deadline approaches, federal Health Minister Mark Holland maintained on Tuesday that he will have brought together the six non-signatory provinces and territories, including Quebec, in time for the deadline set by the Trudeau government. He, at the same time, recalled the deadline in question.
Aside from Quebec, the other provinces that do not have a final agreement with Ottawa have all reached agreements in principle.
“Health is a field of jurisdiction that belongs to the provinces and […] there is no reason that justifies the federal government not disbursing the agreed amounts,” declared Mr. Dubé’s office, which contests the validity of the deadline.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Quebec Minister of Health, Christian Dubé
It was stated that “it has happened several times in the past that a negotiation with the federal government goes beyond the framework of the financial year and that the amounts are carried over to the following year and paid retroactively.”
According to the federal source, for Quebec to be able to receive the 900 million retroactively, a decision to this effect from the federal council of ministers will be necessary.
Mr. Holland’s office, for its part, was not able to confirm the amount that Quebec risks losing. Since Tuesday, it has been argued that the height of the annual payments will be determined in the bilateral agreements themselves.
With these agreements, the federal government wants to obtain from the provinces “action plans describing how the funds will be spent [en plus des dépenses existantes] and how progress will be measured,” it was clarified last year.