The 10 Canadian provinces agree to ask the federal government for $28 billion annually to repair their health care system, which is cracking everywhere. For Quebec, it is a claim of 6 billion dollars to bail out a ship that is taking on water.
During the height of the pandemic, the federal government was not shy about public health emergencies and happily paid $79 billion. The provinces did not have to negotiate, Ottawa opened the pockets.
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Faced with an emergency, he did not hesitate to use his excellent credit rating to pay the bills for millions of vaccines, for example.
The government of Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, was able to see the failures of the provinces, particularly in Quebec, in terms of services and care for the elderly, public and private CHSLDs left to their own devices, inaccessibility one family doctor or specialist per million people, staff shortages that lengthen waiting lists for surgeries, inadequate home care for vulnerable people, emergency rooms that are overflowing, ambulances that are slower than Uber to get to the hospital, reports in youth protection that raise fears of avoidable tragedies, etc.
Ottawa Terms
The Trudeau government has therefore indicated its willingness to pay its share of the bill… on its terms. It is also clear that the federal government has the big end of the stick and that it intends to settle accounts with the provinces, Quebec in particular.
The Prime Minister and his Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, have in their throats the call from Quebec not to vote for the Liberals in the last federal election to deprive Justin Trudeau of the majority so much sought after for his new mandate. A skillful and now experienced Prime Minister cannot forget such an affront.
In the political game, you can beat a political adversary, but never humiliate him!
The game will be rough
Be careful, the game will be tough. Already, following the historical behavior of Ottawa, underhand negotiations with the Maritime provinces have begun and the agreement will be unveiled at the appropriate time.
The majority government of Doug Ford in Ontario needs this money and the guarantee that the transfer will not be used for anything other than health is not a requirement that unsettles the province.
The Trudeau moment has finally arrived. Already, political lieutenants Duclos and Rodriguez have launched the first salvos.
How to believe that Quebec needs 6 billion to bail out its health system when it has just written checks for 2 billion instead of investing this money in its health system?
Is Quebec in a position to force the hand of a government that it humiliated and deprived of its majority barely 18 months ago?
In the showdown that has begun with Quebec over the transfer of $6 billion to the Quebec treasury, will the Trudeau moment and his NDP endorsement resist the nationalist and autonomist discourse of a government that has the long teeth, but who has few means to bite except public discourse?
Maurice Duplessis, in his time, had created the provincial tax to get out of federal dependence in the face of the failure to “get his booty back”.
heavy artillery
On September 10, 2021, Prime Minister Legault invited Quebecers not to vote Trudeau. At the dawn of an election campaign in Quebec, this is an opportunity to settle accounts with the Quebec government. Quebec is in danger of being isolated as in 1982.
To avoid the worst, Quebec will have to bring out the heavy artillery… but does it have a plan to do this?
Remy Trudel, ex-Minister of Health, professor at ENAP
Jacques Letourneau, ex-president of the CSN, political analyst