New deal adds $48M in first year of pact
Premiers say even more is needed to address problems with the system
CHARLOTTETOWN
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's new deal could mean $48 million more for P.E.I.'s health-care system but Premier Dennis King, along with all provincial and territorial premiers, said the dollars were nowhere near what is needed.
On Feb. 7, Trudeau met with provincial and territorial premiers as part of negotiations on a new pact aimed at stabilizing the country's health-care system.
King told reporters the Ottawa proposal would mean a $48 million increase in the province's health-care budget this year alone. While this would amount to a four or five per cent increase, King said a 12 per cent increase in the budget is needed this year.
Health P.E.I. CEO Michael Gardam told a standing committee last week that a $100 million injection of new funding is required for the province to make needed improvements to the state of care on the Island.
P.E.I., like other provinces, is dealing with a significant shortage of health-care workers, including nurses, doctors and other health workers.
King said he would be considering the details of Ottawa's proposal in the days ahead.
But the P.E.I. premier added that he felt health care discussions often focus too much on the dollars and cents needed and not on the fundamental changes that are necessary.
“We've led, maybe, Canadians to believe that money is going to fix this and that's not totally accurate,” King said, referring to the premiers and Ottawa.
“We do need money to help with the innovations and to get people within the system to change what they do and maybe broaden what they do. But it isn't just about money.”
The overall offer would mean P.E.I.'s total federal allocations for health-care funding would add up to $1 billion over 10 years.
King was scheduled to meet Trudeau in Ottawa on the afternoon of Feb. 8.
SaltWire Network attempted to reach King and his staff on Feb. 7 and 8. No response was received by deadline.
PREMIERS EXPRESS DISAPPOINTMENT
For more than two years, the premiers have been asking the federal government to increase its share of healthcare funding from 22 per cent to 35 per cent – which would add up to a $48 billion yearly increase in federal dollars.
Trudeau's health-care deal, presented in full to the premiers for the first time in Ottawa on Feb. 7, offered a total of $196.1 billion in spending over the next 10 years. However, only $46.2 billion of that would be new spending – about $4.6 billion per year.
Speaking at the Feb. 7 press conference, all premiers expressed various levels of disappointment with the dollar figure offered by the federal government.
“There wasn't a lot in the way of new funding,” said Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson.
LIBERAL, GREEN LEADERS SAY PLANNING IS A START
P.E.I. Liberal leader Sharon Cameron called Ottawa's offer a “really good start.” She believes the King government should accept the money offered and begin to make improvements now.
"Absolutely. Take it. Let's start. Let's get to work," Cameron told SaltWire Network.
Like King, Cameron said she believes the solution to the province's health care challenges are about more than money. She believes
King has failed to put in place a plan to deal with the province's health care challenges.
"Before we start putting our hand out for more money, do you actually know where you're going to put it. As a premier, do you have a plan?” Cameron asked.
Similarly Green Opposition Leader Peter Bevan-Baker said the province's health care challenges were about structural problems and not just about lack of funding.
He noted the limits placed on Health P.E.I.'s own budget by Treasury Board and by the Department of Health and Wellness.
"I do think that in this small province where we should be able to administer programs – even the big, complicated expensive ones like a healthcare system – we should be able to do that efficiently," BevanBaker said.
"We get in our own way by complicating it and burdening it with too many layers of bureaucracy."
Gardam has said the health authority needs to be given control over hiring and recruitment of its own healthcare staff. Currently these areas are the responsibility of the Public Service Commission and the Department of Health and Wellness.
When asked if she supported giving Health P.E.I. these powers, Cameron did not say yes or no. She said her party is currently developing its health-care policy for the coming election.
Cameron also said, if a Liberal government was elected, she would serve as both premier and health minister for her first two years of governing.
“I'd bring the full weight of government to this crisis right now," she said.