Trudeau's health care offer not enough to address urgent issues in Alberta: critics
The AUPE estimated Alberta's share to be a potential $233 million in immediate funding from the Canada health transfer and another $2 billion over the next five years from raising annual increases to five per cent from the current three per cent
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Ottawa’s offer of $46.2 billion in new health care cash over the next 10 years is urgently needed, but won’t be enough to fix the flaws of a stressed system, critics say.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled his long-awaited funding offer, including $25 billion in one-on-one deals that will need to be ironed out with each province and territory.
Premiers have long been pushing for the federal government to boost its share of the cost of health care to 35 per cent from 22 per cent. Such a bump would have amounted to an extra $28 billion from the federal treasury this year. Instead the latest offer amounts to about $4.6 billion in new money per year.
Alberta Medical Association (AMA) president Dr. Fredrykka Rinaldi said in a letter to doctors Wednesday it offers long-term predictability, but it represents only a “down payment” on what will be needed given an increasing aging population and an already overstrained system.
The premiers are set to meet again on their own to discuss the deal, but as of Wednesday morning that meeting was yet to be scheduled. Rinaldi said whatever the outcome of further negotiations with the federal government, it’s important that decisions are made quickly.
“Canadians are suffering as they wait for care and for any relief that the new framework can deliver. Nothing announced will immediately address wait times, access and survivability of physician practices,” stated Rinaldi, adding the AMA will continue to advocate for more immediate-term improvements.
Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) vice-president Susan Slade said in a news release she is worried there are no guarantees Alberta’s UCP government will invest the money into publicly-delivered services.
The AUPE estimated Alberta’s share to be a potential $233 million in immediate funding from the Canada health transfer and another $2 billion over the next five years from raising annual increases to five per cent from the current three per cent.
“Services become expensive and patients suffer when health care is just another business built to make profits for the powerful,” said Slade. The AUPE added the promised wage top-ups for personal support workers don’t guarantee the province will try to improve their working conditions.
The deal would require provinces to uphold the Canada Health Act, which aims to ensure Canadians can access care from hospitals and physicians based on need rather than ability to pay, but doesn’t restrict publicly-funded privately-delivered services.
Federal plan is ‘essentially status quo’: Notley
Like Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, who heads the Council of the Federation, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office has said the offer is significantly lower than anticipated. Smith is expected to speak to reporters on the deal at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
At an unrelated news conference Wednesday, Alberta Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley also said the federal plan isn’t enough, with the increases barely enough to keep up with inflation.
“It’s essentially status quo,” said Notley, who said there is urgency to getting as much cash as possible from the federal government as quickly as possible, but also accused the UCP of “starving the system.”
While operational health spending increased by more than $500 million — or 2.4 per cent — in Alberta’s 2022-23 budget, Notley said the province is still well short of where it would have been had the UCP’s spending kept up with population growth and inflation.
Coming to a deal ‘a double-edged sword’ for Smith: political scientist
Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams told Postmedia Wednesday the question of whether Smith should broker a deal quickly, or be seen to be fighting back against Ottawa on the details, will challenge the premier between now and the May election.
“It’s definitely a double-edged sword for her,” said Williams, who noted that if a deal is struck, but doesn’t make a tangible difference for Albertans who are trying to access in-demand health-care services, it could be a liability.
At the same time, not having a deal going into the election could be a liability, said Williams.
On Tuesday, Trudeau was asked repeatedly by reporters if the deal was his final offer, but he didn’t directly answer. He emphasized that in each bilateral deal, provinces and territories will be able to shuffle money around between four priority areas, including supporting family doctors, mental health and substance use, workers and backlogs, and modernization.
“They have the flexibility to meet within this envelope their priorities so that Canadians all across the country get the best care,” Trudeau said.
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