Premiers bristle at Ottawa’s lone-wolf responses
Provinces find it ‘troubling’ when Trudeau unveils programs without consulting them first
OTTAWA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has voiced the growing frustration of premiers with Ottawa’s failure to consult them before unveiling big aid programs, and is warning the Trudeau government that the provinces will not cede control over long-term care for seniors.
Until now, federal-provincial pandemic politics have publicly — and purposefully — been a display of co-operation and collaboration, but strains are starting to show as the provinces take steps to reopen their economies.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged differences in the health situations across the provinces but warned against moving too fast, saying the sacrifices made so far “could all go up in smoke if we move too quickly on reopening or if a given jurisdiction makes the wrong decisions.”
Moe expressed annoyance at the either-or talk. “It’s not a binary choice,” he said in an interview with the Star. “We can reopen our economy and we can control the infection rate of COVID-19.”
Moe said while there has been a lot of federal-provincial co-operation since the mid-March shutdown of all but essential sectors of the economy, he and other premiers find it “very troubling” that Ottawa has unveiled several programs without revealing details to them first. On Monday, the federal government unveiled the aid package for large businesses without briefing them in advance, he said.
Moe and other provincial leaders or their spokespeople who spoke to the Star in the past few days have praised Ottawa for its leadership in co-ordinating access to personal protective equipment and enough reagent and swabs to be able to expand their testing.
But the Saskatchewam premier said several income or business support programs might have been more effective if Ottawa had consulted in advance on details, or tied aid more directly into existing emergency measures the provinces had moved on. He pointed to the commercial rent program as one where the uptake by businesses has been slow, but might have been more effective in Saskatchewan if Ottawa had kicked into an existing program to give grants to small businesses.
The federal program to top up wages for essential workers is another area that was drawn up without provincial consultation, and announced the day after a call with all 13 provinces and territories, Moe said, “without a breath of it in the conversation on the first ministers’ call which is very, very troubling, for provincial leaders, to have that come out without so much as a heads up.” The same thing happened when the federal government announced the amounts to be paid through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit for unemployed workers who don’t qualify for Employment Insurance, and aid for students. Quebec, Manitoba and New Brunswick have been especially critical, saying $2,000 a month for workers and $1,250 for students may act as a disincentive for some workers.
“It’s all well intentioned,” said a Quebec official, “but it came out of the blue.” Some premiers wondered how they would now persuade anyone to step into the breech at long-term-care homes, or persuade students to take up jobs planting crops or picking berries. Quebec ended up offering an extra $100 a week as enticement to laid-off workers and students who would go to boost the workforce for farmers used to relying on temporary foreign workers.
Moe and others also pushed back at musings in public by members of the federal government that key areas of health care such long-term care for seniors might need to be reviewed with an eye to bringing them under the Canada Health Act.
Moe said Ottawa doesn’t adequately fund health transfers now, and “there would be no chance of the provinces ceding any ground with respect to how health care is delivered in our provinces.”
A senior Quebec official told the Star that one thing the COVID-19 outbreak has made clear is that, from now on, “pandemic management belongs to the provinces.”
And that extends to child care as well, Moe said.
While Trudeau has talked about the need to help women re-enter the workforce, “those types of services need to be delivered and have the oversight at the provincial level because of the diversity of our nation,” Moe said.
And when it comes to any economic stimulus program, the premiers are adamant they aren’t looking for measures to advance any industrial sectors that the federal Liberals may want to pick.
Instead, they want money quickly put into shovel-ready infrastructure and other projects to boost the export economy, including the energy sector.
“We have shovel-ready projects that are ready in our communities, in our province, and we need to move on those,” said Moe, who acts as chair of the Council of Federations, which represents all 13 provincial and territorial leaders. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office responded to some of Moe’s concerns with a statement thanking “all of Canada’s premiers who have been doing an incredible job at this difficult time.”
In the weeks since the COVID-19 outbreak escalated into a national shutdown, the prime minister and 13 provincial and territorial leaders have co-ordinated policy-making and messaging via six conference calls by phone, some lasting up to two hours as everyone spoke.
“Everyone was so polite. It was mostly a waste of time,” said a senior Quebec official who spoke on condition he not be identified.
But last week, that shifted. Premiers telegraphed they wanted meatier discussions. There had been too many surprises, and they wanted a chance to dig into topics, including on borders.
“It was a real conversation” as the provinces look to reopen their economies, according to the source.