Quebec health minister says federal government should send more money, not less

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé is urging the federal government to provide more money to the provinces for health care, not less, as Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced Friday morning.

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said he would keep tens of millions of dollars for the provinces because they use private-sector telemedicine services.

Of the $82 million Ottawa has cut from the provinces, $41 million is being taken from Quebec. At a press conference, Duclos could not explain why Quebec, which has 23 per cent of the country's population, is suffering half the impact.

In a statement released by his press secretary, Dubé said that if the federal government really wanted to serve Quebec, it should increase its transfers, not take them away.

He argued that the private sector should be called upon to 'complement' the public sector.

This allows for more care to be provided to the population, he argued.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 10, 2023