(Image credit: the Canadian Press).

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Premiers got a good offer from Trudeau on health care; they should take it

Feb 8, 2023 | 5:07 AM

PROVINCIAL PREMIERS should jump at the healthcare deal offered up yesterday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

He put an extra $46.2 billion on the table, bringing federal health transfers to a total of $196.1 billion over the next 10 years. That includes an unconditional $2 billion for things like pediatric hospitals and emergency departments.

Another $25 billion will be put toward “shared priorities” in which the provinces will have to kick in some of their own money.

Yet the premiers’ response to this new money was tepid. Some felt it was promising, some expressed disappointment that it wasn’t more. Some will, no doubt, come back with more demands and complaints about there being too many strings.

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But why shouldn’t there be strings? Why should billions be handed over to provincial governments that haven’t demonstrated a wise hand on their own healthcare coffers?

Trudeau is right in wanting to ensure accountability for the spending. He wants improvements to how data is collected and used in order to create more transparency and management of public health emergencies.

That, he says, would result in better tracking of performance in the system and more efficiency.

What the premiers have to remember when they insist they should be able to do anything they want with the money is that we’re all paying for it. There’s no federal money tree waiting to be picked.

We the taxpayers will be footing the bill whether we pay it to the provinces or to Ottawa. We need to feel confident that we aren’t throwing it away.

Some premiers are already wondering if they can squeeze more out of the feds than what was offered yesterday, as if this is like bargaining a contract. That would be a mistake.

If they try to bluff by rejecting the deal and demanding more, they could find themselves back to zero. And stagnation in the healthcare system will be on their heads.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops, alternate TNRD director and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.