(Ottawa) It is not enough to “pitch money” in the health system to improve access to care, but results are needed, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday. He defended himself from turning a deaf ear to the request for a meeting from his provincial counterparts.
Posted at 12:06 p.m.
“I don’t believe there is another Prime Minister in Canadian history who, throughout his tenure, has met with First Ministers and sat down to talk about health care as much as I have over the last two years,” replied Justin Trudeau when asked by a reporter why he was “ghosting” provincial premiers.
The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, said he was insulted the day before to see that Mr. Trudeau did not respond to the request for a meeting issued by the Council of the Federation. His counterpart from British Columbia and Chairman of the Council, John Horgan, lamented that communications are now done through the media when they have held 36 telephone meetings over the past three years.
Justin Trudeau recalled that his government had injected an additional 72 billion during the pandemic. “But I think all Canadians understand that it’s not just pitching money to the problem that’s going to solve it,” he insisted. We need to demonstrate concrete results. »
“Canadians who will finally find a family doctor, Canadians who will be able to have their surgery, Canadians who are in distress who will be able to have a mental health appointment within a few days,” he said. given as an example. At that level, we have work to do and that’s the conversations we’re having with the provinces. »
The provinces are calling for a substantial increase in the Canada Health Transfer to bring the federal government’s share from 22% to 35%. These would be recurring sums unlike the 72 billion paid during the pandemic.