We need more funding for health care, prime ministers tell Justin Trudeau

OTTAWA — The last time Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with his provincial and territorial counterparts, they discussed the “potential” of the Omicron strain of COVID-19 to lead to a rapid resurgence of cases that “could” put pressure on health. from Canada. care system.

They met again on Monday to face the fact that their mid-December concern is now a reality, and they have to find a way to get over it.

The inaugural first ministerial meeting of 2022 came as provincial testing capacity is overwhelmed, hospital beds are filling, vaccines await weapons, and public health restrictions threaten the economy once again.

The dire forecast saw Trudeau emphasize the need for all prime ministers to come together to promote acceptance of the vaccine and also federal benefits to help the economy, two federal sources with knowledge of the call told the Star.

For their part, Prime Ministers lobbied Trudeau to speed up access to and delivery of rapid tests, act faster to purchase COVID-19 therapies, and also, more broadly, increase spending on healthcare to help. to the provinces to expand their capacity to face the current crisis.

The provinces also reiterated their request that the Liberals increase the current Health Transfer Canada payment to 35 percent from 22 percent of total health care spending.

“This persistent gap represents billions of dollars in lost funds that Ontario could use to accelerate progress in providing better care for our citizens,” Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford’s press secretary said in a statement. Alexandra Adamo.

The provinces have also continued to ask Ottawa for direct support in the form of Canadian Red Cross or military personnel who have assisted during the pandemic, including assisting in long-term care homes and running isolation units for agricultural work.

There are now calls for help providing health care, running vaccine clinics and helping remote communities like Bearskin Lake in Ontario, where more than half the population has COVID-19.

But Andrew Furey, the prime minister of Newfoundland and Labrador, told CTV’s Power Play that prime ministers were reminded on Monday of the “finite” number of military or Red Cross doctors or nurses and that requests for help would have to be managed by Ottawa, especially if they continue to grow.

“It’s not infinity, we have to recognize that,” said Furey,

“I don’t envy the prime minister or the people who make those decisions when handling those requests.”

The issue underscores the long-term challenge of managing the pandemic in Canada: Health care remains a provincial responsibility, a message also delivered last week by Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc when asked how Ottawa could help. .

“As a government we have to efficiently use the federal resources that we can contribute to fill the gaps that the provinces and territories are identifying,” he said.