Ontario open to accept federal conditions if healthcare funding is increased: Doug Ford

While at an Etobicoke pharmacy promoting Ontario’s new move allowing pharmacists to prescribe certain medications, Ontario Premier Doug Ford asserted that the provincial government would be willing to accept the Trudeau-led government’s conditions if the federal share of healthcare funding is increased.

The premiers of all 13 provincial governments have continuously advocated for an increase in federal funding in the healthcare sector, with the premiers collectively demanding a meeting with PM Justin Trudeau back in December.

“There always has to be accountability…So that’s the least of our issues. Do we want a little bit of flexibility? Yeah, and I think they’re willing to do that,” Ford stated Wednesday.

The premiers have been asking for a $28 billion increase to the Canada Health Transfer, bringing the federal share of Healthcare costs from 22 per cent to 35 per cent.

Stressing the urgency of the issue back in December, Ford stated, “The number one issue in this entire country from coast to coast to coast is healthcare, and we can’t do it alone…Nothing should be more important to the prime minister than meeting with the 13 premiers. That’s the bottom line…It’s not that hard to sit down and have a conversation and hammer out a deal. That’s what we’re asking for.”

PM Trudeau, on the other hand, had previously stated, “If provinces continue to not reform or not improve their health-care delivery services, it’s no surprise that Canadians are getting more and more frustrated.”

“One of the only levers I have is saying, ‘I’m not giving you this money with no conditions. I will fully participate in the funding of it, as long as those real improvements are made,” PM Trudeau stated.

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’s office on Wednesday stated that the federal government continues to work with the provinces on a new agreement.

“We know we still have more collaborative work to do to achieve better health care for all Canadians, and that will continue to be our focus,” stated spokesperson Marie-France Proulx.