Cory Morgan: Provinces and Municipalities Must Be Wary of Feds Bearing Gifts

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on as Chrystia Freeland speaks at a press conference at a local child-care centre in Ottawa, on March 29, 2023. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Commentary

One of my favourite quotes from the late P.J. O’Rourke is, “If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.”

When a government makes a commodity “free,” access to the goods or services provided becomes the commodity. In Canada, health care is a prime example. While nobody has to pay out of pocket for medically necessary services, they have to endure some of the longest waiting times on earth to access them. This rule applies to other services as the federal government continues meddling in other jurisdictions, thus creating a scarcity of goods.

The tactic being used by the federal government of late has been insidious, even if well-meaning. In a desperate bid to win back lost public support, different government departments announce new spending initiatives that fall under the jurisdiction of other levels of government. The funding comes with strings attached, and leaves provinces and municipalities in the position of having to cooperate with the dictates of Ottawa or lose access to the proposed funding. Politicians on the provincial or municipal level of government who question the proposals are labelled as heartless ogres who would turn away “free” money from the federal government to score ideological points.

The $10-per-day daycare program in Canada is a prime example. In 2021, the federal government budgeted $30 billion over five years for provinces to provide daycare. To access the funds, though, provinces would have to sign agreements to cut daycare fees in half immediately, then cut them to $10 per day by 2025. The program dumps all the responsibility for the provision and administration of the daycare programs on the provinces but sets hard price points limiting what provinces can do. Premiers who protested the limitations of the program were villainized as Ottawa threatened to cut all funding if the provinces didn’t cooperate.

Provinces were strong-armed into signing on to agreements, and now daycare service levels are hitting crisis levels. Waiting lists for daycare spaces have spiked across the country, reaching nearly two years in some parts of Ontario. Children may have outgrown the need for daycare by the time they qualify to get into a space, but at least it’s nearly “free” right?

In Alberta, daycare operators have been holding rolling closures to protest the crippling system. It’s just not worth opening a daycare, and shortages will only become worse. While the federal program is at the root of the shortages, it’s the premiers who take the heat for it.

On the municipal front, the federal government has been dipping into subsidizing housing development. Federal ministers appear in cities with grand announcements of handouts for housing construction. They then attach several strings to the funding, which puts the municipal leaders on the spot. In Calgary for example, the federal government has offered $228 million for housing construction. That funding is contingent on the city imposing blanket rezoning, however, which is wildly unpopular among residents. Municipal officials are caught between alienating their electors through blanket rezoning or alienating them through turning down federal grants.

Canada’s housing crisis is worsening every year, despite years of housing grants from Ottawa. As with other commodities, the federal programs are only exacerbating the availability of supply while other levels of government get the blame.

Now the Trudeau government is moving into pharmacare. At least, sort of. The program only covers diabetic needs and birth control and was clearly cobbled together hastily to justify the NDP/Liberal alliance in Ottawa. Like other programs, this one dives deeply into provincial jurisdiction, and like other programs, it could lead to a scarcity of goods.

Both Quebec and Alberta raised the alarm when the pharmacare announcement was made. Quebec was given a pass, while Premier Smith was characterized as a heartless soul who wanted to force diabetics into bankruptcy while unplanned pregnancies sweep the province.

Pharmaceuticals are indeed expensive, and for people like diabetics who need insulin and testing strips daily, it seriously impacts their cost of living. If access to insulin and testing strips becomes difficult due to the pharmacare program, though, people could hit literal life-and-death situations. If we want to offset costs for diabetics, it must be done carefully lest we mess up essential supply chains. It doesn’t take much to disrupt supply. We just need to look back a couple of years to the Tylenol shortage. If birth control or insulin supplies run short, rest assured it will be provincial leaders who take the blame.

Provinces and municipalities must beware of feds bearing gifts. When the shortages come, we can rest assured it will be local governments left holding the bag.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.