AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Summary
- In the virtual first ministers' meeting held on Thursday, December 10, the premiers’ council requested for their share of the health care funding be boosted from 22 per cent to 35 per cent.
- PM Trudeau reportedly did not encourage the discussion of larger transfer payments, which “disappointed” the council of premiers.
- The federal government has plans to send all the Canadian provinces about C$ 42 billion in 2020-2021 for health care.
- The provincial government’s demand for a boost in health care funding comes at a time when the Centre is already looking at an estimated budget deficit of C$ 381.6 billion in 2020-2021.
Premiers of the 13 provinces and territories in Canada left their recent meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau feeling disappointed, as per media reports.
In the virtual first ministers' meeting held on Thursday, December 10, the premiers’ council requested for their share of the health care funding be boosted from 22 per cent to 35 per cent. This would mean an additional C$ 28 billion in the first year.
But PM Trudeau reportedly did not encourage the discussion of larger transfer payments, which “disappointed” the council of premiers.
Canadian Provinces & Their Heath Care Funding
The federal government has plans to send all the Canadian provinces about C$ 42 billion in 2020-2021 for health care. This transfer payment increases by about three per cent every year, as per the current agreement.
But some of the premiers reportedly feel that with the COVID-related health expenses are eating into provincial budgets, the health care funding provided by the federal government is falling short.
While PM Trudeau acknowledged their concerns, he is said to have added that the need of the hour is fighting the pandemic and the discussion of larger transfer payments can be addressed later.
The 13 premiers are expected to discuss the matter further next year.
Key highlights of the First Ministers’ meeting
PM Trudeau held the day-long meeting with COVID-19 inoculation strategies at the centre of discussion, stressing on the importance of cooperation among provinces for the successful rollout of the vaccines.
Trudeau noted that the provinces could access the additional federal funding of about C$ 25 billion to cope with the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
The Canadian prime minister said on Thursday the cost of the COVID vaccines will be shouldered entirely by the federal government.
The total costs of the COVID-19 vaccine doses coming to Canada, the first batch of which are set to arrive next week onwards, is projected to be over C$1 billion so far.
The Canadian government has pre-ordered more than 400 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from seven different pharmaceutical companies, most of which are still awaiting approval from Health Canada. While the Pfizer-BioNTech shot got a greenlight from the national health regulator on Wednesday, December 9, Moderna’s drug is expected to get an approval soon as well.
The provincial government’s demand for a boost in health care funding comes at a time when the Centre is already looking at an estimated budget deficit of C$ 381.6 billion in 2020-2021.
