Ontario, federal government reach tentative deal for health-care funding
Posted February 23, 2023 8:12 am.
The federal government says it has reached an agreement in principle with Ontario on a new health-care deal.
The tentative agreement will include $8.4 billion of new funding from the federal health transfer over the next 10 years, with a one-time top-up of $774 million.
“As Ontario continues to invest at record levels in our publicly-funded system, this additional funding will bolster Ontario’s investments in health care as we implement our plan for connected and convenient care,” reads a statement from Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones.
“We look forward to working with our federal counterparts to reach common ground on ensuring there is sustainable federal health-care funding for generations to come.”
The agreement makes Ontario the first province to reach a new deal with the Trudeau Liberals. The federal government has been working on separate deals with each province and territory to address their specific needs.
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Earlier this month, Canada’s premiers formally accepted an offer from Ottawa for billions in additional funding. The agreed upon offer was for more than $46 billion of new funding through the Canada Health Transfer and an investment of nearly $200 billion over the next decade.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has insisting the money continue to flow for longer, proposing to his colleagues at the premiers’ meeting that they ask Trudeau to extend those deals beyond the 10 years.
Jones says the federal government has agreed build-in reviews “to ensure sustainability and certainty” as part of the new deal.
“Work will now begin on a bilateral agreement based on an initial three-year action plan that will detail targets, timelines and additional common indicators related shared health priorities in each jurisdiction,” reads a release from the federal government.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will hold a news conference on Thursday afternoon.
With files from The Canadian Press
