In a letter, copied to Radio-Canada, Federal Health Secretary Jean-Yves Duclos is asking his provincial counterparts to submit their respective action plans detailing how the funds will be spent on top of existing spending.
Ottawa also wants provinces to disclose their health care improvement goals and how progress will be measured and reported [leurs] Residents before the funds promised by Ottawa are remitted to them.
These signed pledges are required in order for you to access your share of funding, including increasing the Canada Health Transfer. [TCS] which must increase by at least 5% annually for the next five years.
Ottawa has pledged to pay 46 billion new dollars to the provinces over 10 years, including 17 billion to increase CHT and 25 billion to fund shared priorities under bilateral agreements.
A warning
Jean-Yves Duclos also warned provinces that may be tempted to use federal funds for needs other than health.
“Canadians expect that provinces and territories will not reduce their investments in health care because of federal investments. »
— A quote from an excerpt of the letter from the Federal Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, to his provincial counterparts
A review every 5 years
The federal states have also submitted their demands to the federal government. In a letter to Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Doug Ford calls for Ottawa’s provincial health funding agreements to be reviewed every five years.
Prime Minister Legault has also been very constructive in his approach, Government Affairs Secretary Dominic Leblanc said.
“Mr. Legault’s argument was very convincing. We don’t just hire nurses for 5 or 10 years. We want to assure the federal states that we are interested in a long-term partnership.”
— A quote from Dominic Leblanc, Secretary of State for Government Affairs
The federal health minister is endorsing a five-year review that would affect both the TCS and the new bilateral agreements Ottawa plans to sign with the provinces.
Federal Ministers Jean-Yves Duclos and Dominic Leblanc continue their journey across Canada to begin negotiations on bilateral agreements with the provinces.
We are very encouraged, says Dominic Leblanc, who hopes that most of the agreements in principle with the provinces will be finalized in the coming weeks, in time for the fiscal season.
The priority dossiers of these agreements relate in particular to family health services, support for health workers, access to mental health and addiction services and the modernization of the system thanks to digital tools.
Additionally, Ottawa will provide provinces with a broader list of proposed indicators in each priority area in the coming days.