Saskatchewan, Ottawa reach health deal

Agreement also reached on private MRIs

REGINA • The united front that provinces wanted in negotiating a national healthfunding deal with Ottawa weakened Tuesday when Saskatchewan struck an agreement with the federal government.

The deal holds the healthtransfer increase to either three per cent or the threeyear moving average of nominal GDP growth — whichever is higher.

It also includes an additional $348.8 million over 10 years for investments in home and mental-health care for Saskatchewan. The federal government says it expects mental-health services for children and youth will be improved and the number of hospital patients who could be better cared for at home or in the community will be reduced.

Saskatchewan Health Minister Jim Reiter suggested there wasn’t much choice but to sign the deal.

“The federal government made it very clear that they weren’t going to have a first ministers meeting on this and that they weren’t going to budge off those numbers,” Reiter said at the Saskatchewan legislature.

“There’s some very significant stresses in mentalhealth and home care in this province, and we thought it was time to get on with the work.”

Late last year, the federal government offered to increase health-transfer payments by 3.5 per cent annually and fork out another $11.5 billion over 10 years in targeted funding, primarily for home care and mental health.

The provinces and territories rejected the offer, which Ottawa said was only on the table for one day.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said the provinces were hoping to pressure the federal government into increasing the annual health transfer at a rate of at least 5.2 per cent each year.

Almost immediately after the offer was rejected, New Brunswick signalled that it would negotiate a bilateral deal.

At the time, Quebec Health Minister Gaetan Barrette said the New Brunswick move reduced the chances of a pan-Canadian agreement.

British Columbia Health Minister Terry Lake said Ottawa was taking a “divideand-conquer” approach and B.C. would not negotiate a separate deal.

Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia have since reached deals. So have the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon.

“I think that united front went by the wayside long before our announcement today,” said Reiter.

Saskatchewan’s deal would improve if any other jurisdiction were to reach an agreement with better financial terms.

Reiter also announced that Ottawa is letting Saskatchewan continue with private MRI scans — at least for one year.

Saskatchewan’s legislation allows MRIs paid for privately as long as the clinic does a second scan at no charge for a patient on the public wait list. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall. The federal and Saskatchewan governments have struck a health-funding deal, which includes investments in home and mental-health care.