OTTAWA -- Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says the provincesâ focus on dollar amounts and health transfer percentages is âa futile fight,â and Canadaâs premiers should instead focus on achieving results, such as recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals, and getting care to people.
âIf dollars were the solution to the problem, the problem would be solved quickly because provinces and territories on average are already running surpluses,â Duclos told Joyce Napier on CTVâs Question Period, in an interview airing Sunday.
The first in-person meetings in four years between Duclos and provincial health ministers this week ended in a stalemate, with the latter saying â before the talks wrapped â that âno progressâ had been made.
Canadaâs premiers have been calling for the federal government to increase healthcare transfers â the long term, predictable funding the federal government gives to the provinces and territories, called the Canada Health Transfer â from 22 per cent to 35 per cent.
The federal government, for its part, has agreed to send more money to the provinces and territories, but under certain conditions, namely expanding the âuse of common key health indicators,â and building âa world-class health data system,â according to a statement from Duclosâ office.
Duclos said the focus on percentages does not help health ministers, who he claims were given âmarching ordersâ by their premiers not to work with him short of signing a deal to increase the Canada Health Transfer.
âMy job is not to send dollars to finance ministers,â he said. âMy job is to make sure that whatever we do helps my colleagues, health ministers, do the difficult and important work that they want to do and want to keep doing.â
Duclos insisted he and his provincial and territorial counterparts work well together, but he blames premiers for quashing any hopes of progress fixing Canadaâs broken healthcare system.
âPremiers want us to insist only on dollars, which you know, is not the solution,â he said. âWe need to agree on ends before we come to the means to achieve those ends.â
Meanwhile B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix, who hosted this weekâs meetings in Vancouver, said the premiers have been asking to meet and discuss the Canada Health Transfer with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for more than a year, and that Duclos didnât come to the meeting with any details on that front.
âI would sit down at noon on Boxing Day. I'll serve turkey to federal officials if they come out and have a serious meeting on the Canada Health Transfer,â Dix said in an interview on CTVâs Question Period.
Dix added itâs âpreposterousâ for the federal government to claim the sticking point is only about dollar amounts, when provinces need more money to hire healthcare staff and address gaps in other areas, such as mental health and addictions, and the system was built on the federal government covering more of the cost than it currently does.
âThe federal government, unfortunately, in this case, I don't think has taken this matter seriously,â he also said. âWe've been asking for a meeting for a year and haven't got one.â
It wasnât just the health ministers who said they were disappointed with the meetingâs outcome.
Canadian Medical Association (CMA) past president Dr. Katharine Smart told CTVâs Question Period that Canadians want to see accountability from officials and proof of a return on investment when it comes to healthcare spending.
âI think what we were hoping for was to see cooperation and collaboration between levels of government towards solutions in what is our failing healthcare system,â she said. âAnd I think, unfortunately, that we fall very short of that mark.â
Smart added the CMA has proposed several changes to the system that havenât been implemented, and that thereâs concern about pouring more money into âsomething thatâs broken,â without working to âtransform and modernize our healthcare system.â
âWhat that's led to here is an impasse,â Smart said. âBut what that means for Canadians is ongoing lack of access to timely care, and it's highly concerning.â
âI think we need a fundamental shift in the way we deliver healthcare,â she added.