Ottawa signs $3.7B health deal with Quebec, final province to sign onto health accord
All 13 provinces and territories were part of Ottawa's new health accord as of Wednesday after Health Minister Mark Holland announced a $3.7-billion health pact with Quebec.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first pitched a new health-funding deal to provinces more than a year ago to increase federal health transfers and provide targeted help.
The offer came as premiers and health workers raised the alarm about the ailing state of Canada's health-care systems.
In exchange for the funds, Ottawa is requiring provinces to report on how the money will be spent and measure whether those funds are improving health outcomes for Canadians.
Quebec was the only province not to sign onto the deal in principle over concerns about the sovereignty of its health data, accusing Ottawa of overstepping its jurisdiction.
The deal Ottawa eventually reached with Quebec includes $2.5 billion over three years for health-care improvements, as well as $1.2 billion over five years to improve access to home care or a safe long-term care facility for aging Quebecers.
The deals respect Quebec's "exclusive jurisdiction" over health, the province’s Health Minister Christian Dubé said Wednesday in a statement in French.
However, like other provinces, Holland said Quebec will still be required to show precisely how federal dollars are being spent on a shared list of health priorities, and provide annual, publicly available progress reports.
"Inside of that rubric is an enormous amount of flexibility, and the Quebec plan demonstrates that," Holland said in an interview Wednesday.
The Quebec government plans to use the funds to help implement a health-care reform plan, but will continue calling for more federal funding.
According to the province, the federal share of health-care spending will decline from an estimated 21.9 per cent in 2024-25 to 20.7 per cent in 2032-33.
"It has to be said that the amount being provided is not at the level that we asked for,: Dubé said in her statement.
"That said, we have the Quebec Health Plan and the sums provided for in these agreements will be used to support its deployment, which began more than two years ago."
Now that Ottawa has signed deals with each province and territory, Holland said he'll be getting his fellow health ministers together in the coming weeks to talk about next steps.
The accords will be different from past iterations because the provinces will be publicly reporting on their progress, using measured indicators, and providing detailed accounts of how the money's being spent, he said.
"You achieve what you measure," Holland said, describing the new framework as a "starting line" for new federal-provincial-territorial relationships on health care.
"We're not just cutting a cheque."
Provinces are expected to start reporting their progress in the fall of 2025, but Holland said many provinces are already making strides toward improving their health systems after the COVID-19 pandemic.
People shouldn't expect to see immediate change, but Holland said he hopes to see incremental progress toward better health systems in Canada over time.
"If somebody tells you you can wave a wand and magically arrive in a different place, then they're not being honest to you," he said.
While governments will be working toward change as quickly as possible, he said they have to be "true and honest with both the challenges and the opportunities."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2024.
— With files from Jacob Serebrin in Montreal
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Mayday!': New details emerge after Boeing plane makes emergency landing at Mirabel airport
New details suggest that there were communication issues between the pilots of a charter flight and the control tower at Montreal's Mirabel airport when a Boeing 737 made an emergency landing on Wednesday.
Trudeau appears unwilling to expand proposed rebate, despite pressure to include seniors
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does not appear willing to budge on his plan to send a $250 rebate to 'hardworking Canadians,' despite pressure from the opposition to give the money to seniors and people who are not able to work.
Hit man offered $100,000 to kill Montreal crime reporter covering his trial
Montreal news outlet La Presse says a hit man offered $100,000 to have one of its crime reporters assassinated.
Cucumbers sold in Ontario, other provinces recalled over possible salmonella contamination
A U.S. company is recalling cucumbers sold in Ontario and other Canadian provinces due to possible salmonella contamination.
Trudeau says no question incoming U.S. president Trump is serious on tariff threat
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says incoming U.S. president Donald Trump's threats on tariffs should be taken seriously.
Insurgents breach Syria's second-largest city Aleppo in shock offensive
Insurgents breached Syria's second-largest city Aleppo after blowing up two car bombs on Friday and were clashing with government forces on the city's western edge, according to a Syria war monitor and fighters.
Here's how thick ice needs to be to park a truck on it, according to Sask. Water Security Agency
The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA) says ice should be at least one foot (30 centimetres) thick before it's safe to drive a car or light truck on a frozen body of water.
Democratic lawmakers from Connecticut report Thanksgiving bomb threats against their homes
At least six Democratic members of Congress from Connecticut were targeted by bomb threats on their homes Thursday, the lawmakers or their offices said.
Latest updates: Tracking RSV, influenza, COVID-19 in Canada
As the country heads into the worst time of year for respiratory infections, the Canadian respiratory virus surveillance report tracks how prevalent certain viruses are each week and how the trends are changing week to week.