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The country’s 13 prime ministers are in Victoria for a second day as they discuss health care, inflation and the post-pandemic economic recovery.
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July 13, 2022 • 6 hours ago • 4 minutes of reading • 24 comments Quebec Prime Minister Francois Legault (left) and British Columbia Prime Minister John Horgan answer questions during a press conference on the second day of the Summer Meeting of the Prime Ministers of Canada in Victoria, BC, on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 Photo of Chad Hipolito / THE CANADIAN PRESS
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When the 13 prime ministers meeting in Victoria realized on Tuesday that their demands for more money for health would not be met by Ottawa, they became increasingly hostile, accusing the federal government of ignoring them and negotiating through the media.
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The Prime Minister of British Columbia, John Horgan, who has been educated with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, took off his gloves in the fight with Ottawa. And he had in his corner the other 12 prime ministers in the country who have called, to no avail, for the federal government to increase its share of health care funding from 22% to 35%. For BC, that would mean an increase of $ 3.9 billion annually.
Horgan is the chairman of the Federation Council and hosted provincial and territorial leaders in the BC capital on Monday and Tuesday to talk about health care, inflation and the post-pandemic economic recovery. It was the first face-to-face meeting since 2019.
Horgan portrayed prime ministers as champions of everyday Canadians who do not have a family doctor or face long waits in emergency rooms, while characterizing federal liberals as out of touch.
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“With the utmost respect for federal ministers who now suggest everything is fine, go talk to humans. Go and talk to patients. Go and talk to health care providers,” one exasperated Horgan said. “We echo what people are telling us in our communities across the country.”
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos acknowledged that health systems are in crisis, which directly affects the provinces and territories. He said he has been constantly working with his provincial and territorial counterparts, while transferring billions of dollars to strengthen the system.
“We have grown together in terms of policy, but also in terms of funding,” he said, adding that Ottawa has already agreed to do more in the long run. Duclos did not provide a timetable for these negotiations.
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Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford said it is insulting for the federal government to send its message through the media instead of sitting down and talking to prime ministers. Horgan said he sent a letter to Trudeau in December about funding health care and has received no response.
Horgan painted a terrible picture of health care in British Columbia, further shaking confidence in a system that critics say is on the verge of collapse.
The time has come for the federal government to “stop arguing” and “do what Canadians want us to do, get back on track to have a (enviable) world-class health care system, not one that was sinking under our feet, ”Horgan. dit.
About two dozen people stood outside the Fairmont Empress hotel, the conference venue, on Tuesday morning, hoping the prime ministers would take into account their calls for immediate action to address the health crisis that has left almost a million British Colombians without a family doctor. and has caused some emergency rooms to close temporarily due to lack of staff.
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“Well,” Horgan said of the protesters, “because it seems the federal government thinks everything is fine, but we know that in the provincial capitals across the country it’s not like that. The problems that are emerging in British Columbia are also emerging in Ontario and Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and elsewhere. “
The president of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Katharine Smart, who met with prime ministers on Monday, said the unprecedented shortage of staff exposes a health system “toward collapse” and that it needs desperately a modernization.
In BC, only 50 percent of GPs work in longitudinal medicine, Smart said, because of outdated payment models, the administrative burden of running a clinic, and the challenges of meeting the needs of older or more complex patients.
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Such a massive review can only be done with federal and provincial collaboration, Smart said.
In an interview with CBC on Monday, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc called the provincial figure of 22 percent “false” and said it does not take into account the tax powers transferred from Ottawa to the provinces and territories. which last year was worth $ 20 billion. .
Horgan said it’s not good enough to receive a call from Leblanc at 8 a.m. Sunday before the conference “after months of inaction and saying we’re working together.”
Leblanc also said the federal government will not deliver money without ties because Ottawa cannot afford a situation where health care spending increases while provinces have surpluses or return discounts to taxpayers.
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Alberta Prime Minister Jason Kenney said it is “cheap and false” to suggest that provinces and territories cannot provide people with decent health care while offering relief from high inflation rates for a long time. 40 years.
Kenney said none of the prime ministers have received any letter or communication from the federal government setting out the possible conditions for increasing health funding.
“If they have anything to tell us about the conditions, come sit down and say so,” Kenney said. “But so far it looks like their pockets are being covered. They have no intention of paying their share.”
In a statement Tuesday, BC Green party leader Sonia Furstenau criticized Horgan for not having to take charge of the state of health care in BC and for asking Ottawa for health money “without no plan on how to spend it “.
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This shows that the prime minister has not been listening to doctors, nurses, patients and health experts, Furstenau said.
“Their calls for change are clear: immediately modernize the pay-for-service system, hire and support nurses, cover psychologists with MSPs, and create a community health care infrastructure so that health care providers can work independently of government as a team, ”he said. .
Increasing federal government funding should require provinces and territories to show clear results, including linking all British Colombians to a family doctor, Furstenau said.
with archives of the Canadian press
kderosa@postmedia.com
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