The federal government will invest more in health care, but Justin Trudeau says he also needs to make sure Canadians see the results of a possibly improved system.
The premier made the comments in Laval on Monday, as the 13 provincial and territorial health ministers are scheduled to meet with their federal counterpart, Jean-Yves Duclos, Monday and Tuesday in Vancouver.
Mr. Trudeau says his government is committed to investing “much more” in health care, while pointing to a recent statement by the president of the Canadian Medical Association that there is no point in investing more. money in a failing system.
He said his government wanted to make sure people have access to a family doctor and mental health services, and that they know the emergency room is open when their child needs it.
The federal-provincial meeting of health ministers is the first to be held “in person” since 2018.
The premiers of the provinces and territories met in Victoria in July, and reiterated their demand for a significant increase in health transfers from the federal government. The provinces still want these federal transfers to increase from 22% to 35% of health care costs.
Trudeau reiterated on Monday that beyond money, health care delivery needs to be improved for Canadians. “We know that it takes more investment in our health system, and as I said, the federal government is there” to do it, he declared during a trip to Laval.
“But everyone knows very well that it’s not just money that it takes: it’s transformations in our health system, it’s improvements, results that we deliver for citizens, and that’s what health ministers are here for,” he said.
“We also want to ensure that Canadians, and that our workers in the healthcare system, receive the benefits of these investments to deliver better healthcare systems across the country — that’s exactly what we’re doing. to work with them [les ministres] now. »
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the extra money was needed as his province tackles nursing and doctor shortages, works to improve the access to remote health care and strengthens mental health and addictions services related to the opioid crisis.
Last week, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Nurses Association and HealthCareCAN, which represents various organizations and hospitals, also came together ahead of the federal-provincial conference to urge ministers to work together at beyond “competence disputes”, in order to resolve the crisis that is raging across the country.
The coalition urges the various levels of government “to put aside partisan rhetoric and jurisdictional disputes” and “to establish common priorities” in order to resolve a crisis that “similarly” affects the entire population. Canadian.
The coalition’s recommendations include establishing pan-Canadian licensure, helping foreign-trained professionals obtain licensure in Canada, and developing a national health human resource planning strategy.