The health agreement does not raise a constitutional issue, according to Tanguay

The “unacceptable” deal on health care funding does not challenge the constitutional order, interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay said on Tuesday.

Mr. Tanguay said that Premier François Legault cannot be satisfied with Ottawa’s offer for an increase in the Canada Health Transfer below what the provinces were asking for.

During a press briefing, the Liberal leader accused the Prime Minister of showing resignation.

“It’s unacceptable,” lamented Mr. Tanguay.

He invited Mr. Legault to put forward the demands of Quebec, which obtained an increase in its transfers of 1 billion per year, when the request was 6 billion.

“There is a balance of power, in the population, in the National Assembly, to say that it does not pass,” argued the Liberal leader.

According to Mr. Tanguay, the issue is not constitutional but rather relates to Mr. Legault’s ability to negotiate.

“The federal government’s choice to make the offer it made is not linked or dependent on the constitutional balance,” he said. So I don’t think we need to open the constitutional file to say that this is a bad deal for Quebec. It has to be negotiated in a way that is much more in line with Quebec’s needs. Quebec must have more. »

Taxes in Ottawa

PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said that this disappointing agreement should encourage Mr. Legault to bring back the option of sovereignty in his arsenal against Ottawa.

“I think people believed François Legault for a few years, but there, as the failures accumulate, but also as the contempt intensifies in relation to the choices or the differences of Quebec, must arise the issue of independence,” he said.

Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon affirmed that Quebec taxpayers send almost half of their taxes to the federal government, which offers very few direct services to the population.

“Who ends up with almost the entire mission of important services for the population? The government of Quebec, but cut off from a substantial part of the budget that should come with it, the federal government, being busy duplicating things that we are already doing,” he said.

Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon said that the negotiations in which Mr. Legault participated with his counterparts from the Council of the Federation did not live up to expectations.

“To date, all he’s given us is a few days where he’s angry and then tries to bury these questions as if they hadn’t happened,” he said. The truth is that if the health care system is missing $5 billion a year, we cannot pretend that the issue does not exist. »

The co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire, Manon Massé, for her part demanded a commitment from Mr. Legault that the shortfall will not be made up by cuts to public services.

“In my book to me there is a lack of 5 billion, she said. Perhaps he will seek out a couple more in bilateral discussions, but as we speak, 5 billion are missing. How is this government going to ensure the entire population of Quebec that, when they need health care, there will be a response to the needs,” she said.

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