Quebec says $900M isn't enough
But it's best federal health transfer available without conditions: CAQ
With one opposition leader describing it as a fresh slap in the face, the Legault government Wednesday conceded the $900 million a year in health funding it pried out of the federal government is insufficient.
But three Coalition Avenir Québec ministers also argued the fact that the province was able to get the money without accepting any of the conditions Ottawa wanted is in itself a gain. The three also confirmed the money will indeed go into the health system and not into the general spending of a government running an $11-billion deficit.
“It's not enough,” Health Minister Christian Dubé said arriving for question period. “The right word is we are disappointed. We said at the start, we were after $6 billion.”
Dubé, however, insisted the news was not all bad. Unlike other provinces, there will be no accountability or conditions imposed on Quebec for the use of the money, which had been a source of friction between the two governments.
Quebec did agree with one federal condition: it will share health data — which is already public — with the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
“When we receive news we are not happy about, we have two choices: We pout, we cry or we say, 'I have this in the meantime, I will do other things,'" Dubé said.
Moving to the next battle, Dubé said he told federal Health Minister Mark Holland that he will now be asking for the money Ottawa wants to put into an “ill-defined” national dental care program as a way to make up the shortfall.
Quebec has already announced it is opting out of the program because such services already exist in Quebec.
“On the amount, it's not sufficient,” said Jean-françois Roberge, minister for Canadian relations.
“It's not new that we are dissatisfied with the amount. All the provinces said the same thing. We did not win on the amount.”
Roberge said Quebec nevertheless stood its ground on the conditions Ottawa wanted to impose.
“It's not sufficient but we got what we wanted on the conditions; that is to say there are no conditions,” he said. “Our jurisdictions are respected.”
As for the money, Roberge said Quebec will “make a new attempt” later to get a larger transfer.
Later, Finance Minister Eric Girard confirmed the $900 million a year over the next 10 years was included in his revenues in the 2024-2025 budget he tabled in the National Assembly last week.
“This does not change the financial framework of the Quebec government,” Girard said. “Health care is 43 per cent of our budget. We are spending close to $60 billion a year on health care, so an additional billion will be easily spent.
“It goes into a consolidated fund, it's a revenue, and then we're spending it on health care.”
The opposition parties, however, were quick to pounce, repeating that in their view, the CAQ'S strategy to get more money for health from Ottawa was a flop.
Ottawa announced a year ago that it would transfer an additional $196 billion to the provinces and territories for health over 10 years.
Quebec was the last province to sign on to the deal, which comes just as a new poll shows the CAQ still trailing in public opinion and Quebecers not impressed by the last budget.
“We have additional evidence of a major failure by (Premier) François Legault,” said interim Liberal Opposition leader Marc Tanguay at a morning news conference. “The end result is that his dealings with Ottawa are a total disaster.”
Liberal health critic André Fortin added that the $900 million in federal funding is less than the health-care system gobbles up in a week.
He said he was worried the provincial government might try to do the same thing it did in 2021, when it got $6 billion in federal money for daycare and then promptly spent it on other things.
“It's a slap in the face,” Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-pierre Plamondon said of the $900 million. “The same slap in the face as a few months ago. Nothing has changed.”
He said had Ottawa given Quebec the $6 billion it was asking for, Quebec's $11-billion deficit would be $6 billion lower.
“The standard should not be: This is better than nothing,” he said. “The standard should be: This is our money, not the federal government's money.”