Federal minister reports 'a lot of progress' in health-care talks with provinces

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Monday that ongoing federal-provincial talks on the Canada Health Transfer are going well — and there could be a summit between the prime minister and the premiers in the coming days to finalize an increase to the Canada Health Transfer.

Speaking to reporters in Hamilton ahead of a cabinet retreat, LeBlanc said he's been working the phones, talking to premiers and senior provincial officials as Ottawa looks to secure an agreement to increase the federal-provincial CHT transfer with conditions attached.

The provinces have been demanding a multi-billion dollar cash injection to stand up a system that has been undermined by COVID-19 and labour shortages.

Ottawa has said it wants its investment to go beyond short-term fixes to deliver systemic change to a system that faces a multitude of challenges — in primary care, mental health, long-term care, virtual care and data collection.

"There's been a lot of progress over the weekend," LeBlanc said. "I'm optimistic."

LeBlanc also suggested the deal that's in the works could guarantee a certain level of funding for years to come.

"This is part of a process that will take us, we believe, to an important agreement that will improve the health-care system for the long term for Canadians," he said.

LeBlanc said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with his provincial counterparts only when some of the finer points of the deal have been negotiated.

The premiers have been demanding a face-to-face meeting with Trudeau for months.

"At the right moment, as the prime minister has always said, he'll sit down with his fellow first ministers," LeBlanc said.

To help stabilize the system, the premiers have been asking Ottawa to dramatically increase how much it spends each year on the CHT — the block of money sent by the federal government to the provinces and territories to fund health services. The premiers want Ottawa to increase its share of health-care costs from the current 22 per cent to 35 per cent.

The federal Liberal government has said the 22 per cent figure doesn't reflect the whole funding picture.

In 1977, some tax points were transferred from Ottawa to the provinces, which allowed them to collect a larger share of all tax revenues to fund social programs like health care. Those tax points, Ottawa argues, should count for something.

Trudeau and his ministers have convened here in Hamilton — an industrial city of some 785,000 people an hour west of Toronto — to discuss health care and other politically sensitive issues that might emerge when Parliament resumes sitting next week after its winter break.