Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he is disappointed with Ottawa’s new healthcare funding offer received on Tuesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a $196 billion package that fell far short of the expectations of provincial and territorial leaders.
Saskatchewan’s premier said the federal government has had years to respond to the unanimous request from all provinces to become a full funding partner in health care. Scott Moe said Tuesday’s long-awaited meeting confirmed they have no interest in doing so.
“I think we need a couple of days to digest the offer and our teams to digest the detailed information,” Moe said.
The current offer amounts to a two per cent increase.
“We were looking for $28 billion up front to be able to meet our immediate needs,” Saskatchewan Minister of Health Paul Merriman said.
Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) welcomed the additional dollars.
“The SMA would like to see a significant amount invested in primary care reforms that address the access challenges patients are facing,” a statement said.
Saskatoon doctor Adam Ogieglo is urging the province to focus less on the dollars and more on health care reform.
“I think ultimately it doesn’t boil down to dollars and cents,” Ogieglo said “I think we just need to change the way we are doing things in our system. You know you can keep throwing money at this problem and we have been doing it for decades now where we don’t reform the system, we try and fix it for a generation and the same sort of problems keep arising.”
The NDP Opposition believe front line workers must be included in the discussion.
“Until we address the retention issue, this is a revolving door and this is what we have heard from health care workers,” leader of the Saskatchewan NDP Carla Beck said.
Some premiers consider the federal package an opening offer or down payment. They plan to negotiate for more, with a federal government that is anxious to see healthcare dollars put to work as quickly as possible.
