(Djerba, Tunisia) Quebec and Ottawa are showing the first signs of convergence on the contentious front of federal health transfers. François Legault is “willing” to share his data with the federal government, a condition demanded by Ottawa to provide more money to the provinces.
“We have a reliable data system and we are improving it with Christian Duby and we are ready to share this data with the federal government,” François Legault said during a press conference where he spoke about her participation in the Sommet de la Francophonie. .
This is a change in tone from Legault’s government, the day after the duo met with Justin Trudeau – the first since his re-election.
At the beginning of the month, there was no question for the health minister to accept the condition set by Ottawa, to co-create a “world-class” health data system, the Canadian Press reported.
When we talk about performance indicators, Quebec is accountable to its citizens and to the National Assembly. “It is not beholden to the federal government because it is under provincial jurisdiction,” he said at a meeting of provincial health ministers in Vancouver. He added, “If the federal government wants statistics, we have a public dashboard available.”
Justin Trudeau also softened his tone on Sunday, stressing that Quebec is “doing a really, really good job” with the data. On the sidelines of the summit, he even emphasized that Quebec’s example could inspire “to ensure we have a better overview of what’s going on in the country.”
An “encouraging” sign in Monsieur Legault’s eyes. “I’m glad to see what the feds say [qu’on est] It was probably the most advanced in terms of data,” he rejoiced.
Last May, Christian Doby posted a dashboard measuring the progress of his health plan. He also wants to resume parliamentary work to return a new version of Bill No. 19 that allows for the abolition of data division in the health network.
Justin Trudeau on Sunday reiterated his government’s “openness” to increasing federal health transfers, but only on condition of access to health data. He added that he hoped to reach an agreement with the governorates on this issue.
“It’s not until the feds can check whether everyone is doing their homework,” he explained.
“It is for Canadians to know for themselves that if someone in Montreal finds a way to run health services that is much better than they do at home in Saskatoon or Halifax, we can benefit from it” across the country, El-Sayed added. Trudeau.
A request for which Monsieur Legault saw no problem. “If we can help other provinces, we are open to that,” he said, clearly emphasizing that he would like access to their provinces in return.
When is the show?
Despite this assured affinity, François Legault recalls that he did not always see “no amount offer” from Ottawa. Districts are coming together to increase federal health referrals from 22% to 35% and to maintain that percentage over the years.
“We are still waiting for the first proposal from the federal government,” said Mr. Legault.
Mr Trudeau did not want to say whether his government will be bringing a new proposal to the provinces by the holidays. The prime minister, who returned to the country on Sunday after a tour of several missions abroad, said only: “We know the urgency of the matter.”
François Legault and Justin Trudeau are set to meet for a more formal interview in December. On Saturday, listing his demands, Mr. Legault indicated he had no intention of “a dispute with Ottawa offshore”.
Counties have called for increased federal health referrals for more than two years. The pandemic has also exacerbated their health system’s funding shortfalls, according to them.
A meeting of regional health ministers and federal health minister Jean-Yves Duclos in Vancouver ended without an agreement. Ottawa also withdrew from the joint statement, which was to be published at the end of the exercise.
