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Health fund talks end without deal as feds balk

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Nov, 2022 04:43 PM

VANCOUVER - The federal government has withdrawn from a joint communique with provincial and territorial health ministers, ending widely anticipated meetings in Vancouver without any agreement to boost health-care funding.

British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix, who called it a "disappointing" end to the meetings, had previously said provincial and territorial ministers were united behind a request for federal funding to be increased to 35 per cent, up from 22 per cent.

However, Dix says the federal government withdrew from both a joint communique and a later news conference, because it was unhappy about a statement Canada's premiers issued today.

The statement reiterates the premiers' request for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with them at a national conference on the federal health transfer.

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Monday that the government was ready to boost the transfer, with various conditions, including a commitment to a common set of health benchmarks and data sharing, a position Trudeau echoed.

But Dix says the provincial and territorial ministers "couldn't move forward" based on what he called "small sound bites from the prime minister.”

"They made the decision not to participate," Dix said of the federal government.

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