Premier François Legault has failed in his bid to secure the desired federal funding for health services.
This is the observation made by the opposition on Wednesday, the day after a meeting between Justin Trudeau and his provincial counterparts on the financing of health care.
Ottawa offered $46.2 billion over ten years, one-sixth of what the provinces were asking for.
“It is unacceptable,” decided the leader of the official opposition, Marc Tanguay, Wednesday morning, in a press scrum in Parliament.
“François Legault should not declare himself satisfied with the result. (….) He must fight to get our loot in Ottawa. He has to think about the patients on the waiting lists. I see a resigned Prime Minister who does not do enough to get our due. »
According to his colleague, the Liberal spokesperson for health, André Fortin, even the federal government “is not saying that it is a final offer” and the provincial premiers must therefore “raise the tone”.
“The offer is insulting,” commented the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire (QS), Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. According to him, Mr. Legault “collapses, he crashes”.
The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, “must be a little freaked out” by this offer “not only insufficient, but ridiculous”, judged his colleague, the deputy Vincent Marissal.
Just before, the PQ leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, saw the failure of the entire negotiation strategy of François Legault who thinks he can make gains in Canada, without brandishing independence.
“There is like an acknowledgment of failure. No one could say that the result obtained makes sense. Everyone agreed that: “we will be unable to offer health services in a sustainable way”. »
His colleague Pascal Bérubé, who has known Mr. Legault for a long time, felt resignation in him.
On Tuesday, François Legault described as “clearly insufficient” the “total amount” recommended by Ottawa to increase the Canada Health Transfer (TCS).