Eby not ruling out side talks with PM at national health gathering
British Columbia Premier David Eby says he's optimistic about next week's meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other premiers about health-care funding.
Eby said Wednesday getting the premiers and Trudeau together in Ottawa leads him to believe a deal to increase core transfer dollars from the federal government to provinces and territories is within reach.
The premiers want Ottawa to cover 35 per cent of health-care costs, up from the current 22 per cent.
Trudeau has said the funding will come with strings attached, including sharing health data and outcomes for a national database.
Eby and several B.C. cabinet ministers were in Ottawa Wednesday, where they discussed public safety, bail reform, climate change and housing issues with Trudeau and members of his cabinet.
Eby met with Trudeau for 45 minutes where he said the prime minister was able to hear directly about B.C.'s concerns.
Next week's health-care meeting was one of the primary issues, but providing more trained RCMP officers for rural B.C. communities was also a topic of discussion, said Eby.
Trudeau did not provide any financial details connected to next week's health funding talks other than say Ottawa will present a “clear and understandable proposal for the premiers,” said Eby, who will travel to Toronto Thursday to meet with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
The B.C. premier said the primary goal at next week's talks remains making progress on an improved national health funding transfer agreement, but he did not rule out the possibility of the province engaging in separate talks with Trudeau about health care.
“We'll be talking about core funding for provinces, but with the ability for provinces to have discussions with the federal government about key areas of provincial priority,” said Eby at a news conference in Ottawa. “I am convinced that B.C.'s priorities are not necessarily the same as Quebec's or Nova Scotia's or Newfoundland's.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.