‘Lots of Work’ Needed Before Ottawa Can Finalize Provincial Health-Care Funding Deal, Says Minister

Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 31, 2022. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says there’s “lots of work” to be done yet before the federal government can finalize its potential health-care funding increase to the provinces, which has been in the works for months.

“[We need to] keep working very hard in the weeks to come because lots of work still needs to be done before we come to an agreement,” Duclos told reporters on Jan. 17 in Cornwall, P.E.I.

“Yes, we’re all looking forward to a final agreement at some point, but we are all very mindful that there is still lots of work to do before we get there.”

Duclos added that one of the barriers to the federal government increasing health-care funding to the provinces is the “damage caused by COVID-19” to the public system.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said previously that Ottawa would like to see certain reforms made to the health-care system before putting more federal investments into it.

“There’s no point just putting more money into a broken system,” Trudeau said on Nov. 7, 2022. “We need to make sure that people can have access to a family doctor, that they have access to mental health services.”

“We will be there with more money, but we need to make sure that more investments in health care ends up supporting folks on the front lines; the nurses and doctors delivering that health care to Canadians.”

Trudeau’s previous comments came shortly before Duclos outlined some of the federal government’s conditions for increasing health-care funding to the provinces.

Duclos said on Nov. 9 that Ottawa would increase the funding if provinces and territories would commit to a “meaningful expansion in the sharing and use of common key health indicators” and the use of a “world-class health data system.”

Conditions

Some of the conditions that Duclos outlined on Jan. 17 for increased federal health-care funding to the provinces included creating easier access to family health teams and investing more in mental health services.

Reducing backlogs in surgeries and diagnostics was another condition, along with “retaining ... recruiting, and recognizing the credentials of health care workers.”

Another requirement is “making sure we have a modern health-care system in Canada,” Duclos said, adding that medical records must be made available in electronic forms so that health-care workers can work “collaboratively.”

He also said the electronic medical records would help “experts and leaders” improve medical care quality through the use of the data.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Jan. 10 that her province will be reforming its health-care system whether or not the federal government increases funding.

“I can’t stop doing reform because the federal government doesn’t want to partner with us,” Smith said. “It’s great if [the government] comes to the table with more funding support, but we’re not going to stop with the reforms that we’re doing.”

Some premiers, including Smith, have maintained calls for federal funding without conditions.