Premiers gather in Victoria to present united demand for more health-care cash

Canada's premiers gather today for two days of meetings in Victoria, British Columbia, where they're expected to focus on their demand for more health-care funding from the federal government.

"The problems Canadians experienced in accessing health-care services during the pandemic have intensified strains in our health systems that will continue unless the federal government significantly increases its share of the costs of health care," B.C. Premier John Horgan, this year's chair of the Council of the Federation, said in a media statement.

"Canadians must have the confidence that their health care systems will provide the services they need. There can be no further delay in having this vital conversation with the federal government."

The Council of the Federation, the association of Canada's 13 provincial and territorial premiers, wants the federal government to increase its share of health-care funding from the current level of 22 per cent to 35 per cent, and to maintain funding at that new level into the future.

"It was … 2004 the last time there were any substantial gains made with respect to any increases in the [Canada Health Transfer]," Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said last week. "What the provinces are asking for is essentially to have a fair funding partner in the federal government, like it was always intended to be from the very beginning."

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos' office told CBC News last week that it is committed to funding public health care in Canada, although it didn't specifically address the premiers' call for the federal government to cover 35 per cent of costs.

Duclos' office said it has invested more than $72 billion in health care since the beginning of the pandemic, including $2 billion to help provinces address surgical backlogs.

His office also said it has committed to bilateral deals with the provinces that would mean $3 billion for long-term care, $3 billion for mental health services and $3 billion for home care.

"We have clearly demonstrated that we are willing to do our part in ensuring the sustainability and accessibility of the universal publicly funded health care system that we all cherish as Canadians," Duclos' office said in a media statement. 

"Canadians aren't interested in a sterile fiscal debate. Canadians are interested in results: they want care and that is what we want to focus on."

The federal government's move to fund specific health programs, like long-term and home care, has upset some provinces. They say the federal government should just give the provinces the money and let them decide where it should be spent, rather than tethering funding to specific programs.

"We're asking for provincial autonomy within the confines of what the Constitution lays out," Moe said. 

Horgan said that targeted funding for specific initiatives does not help provinces plan long-term, or deliver health-care services in the short term.

"One-time funding does not help us build the system. It doesn't help us put in place a human resource strategy," Horgan told CBC Radio's The House in an interview that aired on Saturday.