‘We need help’; Premiers urge feds to increase contributions to health care

The Council of the Federation of Canada’s premiers is urging the federal government to invest more in the country’s stressed-out health-care system, which has been struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s calling for the feds to boost its share of funding by about half.

B.C. Premier John Horgan, who chairs the group, said based on the size of a population, the federal government has been contributing 22 per cent of funding, which is not sustainable for provinces that pick up a majority of the tab. He argues the feds should pay closer to 35 per cent.

“We all agree we need a rebalancing of funding to ensure that we can provide the services that people depend upon,” he said.

Premier @jjhorgan in opening English remarks restates the CoF ask for more federal health dollars saying at one point it was 50/50 now in some cases the feds are only accounting for 22% of funding – needs to be up over 30 at very least he says.#bcpoli @CityNewsVAN

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) February 4, 2022

Ahead of Friday’s meeting, the premiers released a Leger Report that surveyed Canadians and found many feel health care has deteriorated over the last five years. Nearly 80 percent said the pandemic has strained the system by increasing wait times, backlogs for surgery and other procedures and staffing shortages because of burnout.

“It’s an urgent need. It holds true whether you are facing a global pandemic or not. It holds true now more than ever, because we know, as premiers, that we need to be accountable for the services we provide and we need to do that in a way that meets the requirements of the Canada Health Act.”

“We all agree we need a rebalancing of funding to ensure that we can provide the services that people depend upon.”

Resources from the federal government will be tailored to meet the needs of each province and territory, Horgan adds.

So he is emphasizing collaborating is the only pathway to meet the needs of different regions successfully.

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Horgan added access to health care is not only about getting through the pandemic but ensuring all other sicknesses are treated timely manner. The B.C. premier spoke about his most recent first-hand experience battling cancer.

“Many of you will know that I’ve recently experienced my own cancer story the second time in my life. And from the beginning of my journey over the past number of months I’ve been struck by the kindness and the professionalism of health-care providers whether it be at the admissions desk at the hospital, the pre-op care, the post-op care, right up to the point where I rang the bell at the end of my cancer treatments — there were people that were there to do these jobs day in and day out week after week, year after year pandemic or no pandemic. Those health-care professionals provide quality service that is not sustainable in its current model,” he said.

Related Article: ‘I’m feeling pretty good’: B.C. Premier John Horgan’s first public appearance since cancer treatment

After he was diagnosed in November for throat cancer, the 62-year-old premier made his first public appearance Tuesday after undergoing 35 sessions of radiation.

“I saw that on the faces of nurses on doctors, health-care providers, care aids. We need help to be coming on the horizon, and we need it in the form of more funding from the federal government.”

The premier was also treated for bladder cancer in 2008 and lost his brother to cancer in 2018.