Five provinces sign health deal but specific targets, timelines still to come – CTV
Feb. 23, 2023
OTTAWA – Half of Canada’s provinces have now formally signed on to the new health-care deal proposed by the federal government two weeks ago, and more will join them next week, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday.
But the “agreements in principle” now in place with Ontario and all four Atlantic provinces are just the first step to completing the $196-billion, 10-year health-care funding proposal that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made on Feb. 7.
To get the money, all five provinces must still come up with specific plans showing how they will spend it and how they will prove to Canadians that their health-care systems are getting better.
Almost one-quarter of the money — $46 billion — is contingent on each province or territory agreeing to Ottawa’s conditions. That includes that they upgrade their health-care data systems and target some funding to primary care, mental health, recruiting and retaining workers, and dealing with surgical backlogs.
