(OTTAWA) Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson says the premiers have agreed to accept the health care funding deal offered to them by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, though they say that it is much less than what they asked for.
Mme Stefanson is the current president and spokesperson for the association of prime ministers known as the Council of the Federation.
The premiers spoke virtually on Monday, nearly a week after Trudeau offered provinces and territories $46 billion on top of planned federal health transfers over the next 10 years.
The offer fell well short of the premiers’ demand that Ottawa increase its share of health spending from 22% to 35%.
Mme Stefanson argues that the proposal equates to an increase of about two percentage points.
Still, she says the provinces will accept the new funds while continuing to work with Ottawa on a long-term plan to ensure the sustainability of Canada’s precious health care systems.