Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts on February 7 in Ottawa to further advance discussions on a health funding agreement.
“This morning, I invited the provincial premiers to join me (…) for a working meeting on health care,” he announced Wednesday at the opening of a press briefing in Hamilton, where begins the third and last day of retreat with his Council of Ministers before the resumption of the work of the House of Commons.
Two federal sources had previously told The Canadian Press that the purpose of the meeting is not to finalize a new agreement, but rather to solidify the steps necessary to reach such an agreement.
For his part, Mr. Trudeau reiterated that it is clear in his eyes that any increase in federal health transfers paid to the provinces must be accompanied by guarantees of improvements in the public services to which Canadians have access. In his opinion, this “results”-oriented approach corresponds to the expectations of the population.
All the provinces and territories have been asking for more than two years for an increase in federal health transfers in order to increase Ottawa’s contribution from 22% to 35% of costs in this area.
A meeting between provincial and federal health ministers ended in November with an impasse in the negotiations.
A warming has since been observed in this file and the rumor has been circulating for several days about a possible meeting in February.
Justin Trudeau and federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos haven’t publicly specified how much Ottawa is willing to add to health care funding, but they said any new money will force provinces to show how it will be. used to improve patient care.
Specifically, Ottawa wants commitments to increase access to family doctors, end the long backlog of surgeries, improve mental health care, address the health issues of an aging population, and overhaul patient data systems. healthcare, including digital medical records.