News
Ottawa to propose 10-year health-care funding plan to provinces, territories
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The federal government will propose a decade-long plan to fund and reform the health-care system when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with the premiers in Ottawa on Tuesday, according to sources with knowledge of the plan.
The federal proposal will see new money flow as soon as the next budget. It will include a top-up to the planned across-the-board increase to the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) and substantial funding for bilateral agreements with provinces and territories to deal with their specific needs.
Sources say the proposed CHT increases, and the bilateral health deals, will each run for a period of 10 years.
Health-care funding has always been a contentious topic between the provinces and the federal government. The pandemic’s effects on an already strained system have made the need for a new funding agreement more urgent.
On Tuesday, Canada’s premiers will meet in Ottawa with Prime Minister Trudeau to pursue plans to deal with both long- and short-term challenges facing the delivery of health care in Canada.
On Monday, Trudeau said he was looking forward to sitting down with the premiers for what he described as a “working conversation” on how both levels of government can improve “outcomes for Canadians.”
“We will be there putting more money on the table but it’s also important to make sure the focus is on results and outcomes for Canadians,” he said.
Trudeau said his government would work with the provinces over the “coming weeks” to hammer out the details of the new funding agreement and expressed confidence that Canada can afford to boost health-care funding.
“There will be increases to the funding that we’re sending to the provinces for health care,” Trudeau said. He would not say how large that boost will be.
Premiers react to the proposal
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, chair of the Council of the Federation, said premiers are looking for a “long-term, sustainable funding model” from the federal government.
Stefanson said she won’t comment on details media have reported about Ottawa’s proposal, but will instead wait until she sees the full details tomorrow.
“It’s very difficult to make a comment on something that we haven’t seen,” Stefanson told a news conference Monday.
“I would have like to have seen the proposal ahead of time, there’s no question … If we had had it ahead of time, we probably could have had a more fulsome discussion tomorrow.”
Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King talks about the state of health care in his province and his expectations for Tuesday’s meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and premiers.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he wants any funding deal to be permanent.
“It should not only be for 10 years but ultimately be wrapped into permanent funding, into the Canada Health Transfer, either today or eventually,” he said.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs agreed that at least part of the funding boost should be made permanent.
“We’re hoping there will be a portion of it that will be a continuous program,” he said.
Higgs added that he doesn’t mind if healthcare funds from the federal government come with strings attached — such as requirements that the money is spent in certain areas — as long as those conditions align with his government’s health-care priorities.
“I am interested to see what the quantum looks like, what the time frames look like and how that fits for us in Newfoundland and Labrador, specifically with respect to modernizing our system,” said N.L. Premier Andrew Furey.
Quebec Premier François Legault also said he won’t accept conditions that don’t fit into his government’s plans to improve health care in Quebec.
“We know how to invest the money. We don’t need the federal government to tell us how to invest the money,” Legault said.
Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai said he’ll wait to see the full details of the proposal before commenting.
“I think it’s just a ‘wait-and-see’ until tomorrow. I think everybody is optimistic that they’re going to table something that’s going to be strong,” he said.
Sticking points
One major sticking point in the negotiations has been the baseline for health-care funding in Canada. The provinces have been asking the federal government to increase the CHT’s share of total public health spending from 22 per cent to 35 per cent.
The federal government has said it will offer more money but rejects the claim that it only pays 22 per cent of the cost of health care. Ottawa has argued that the tax points transferred to provinces in 1977 bring the federal share closer to 38 per cent.
The second major sticking point has been about placing conditions on any increased funding. The federal government says it wants additional funding to be targeted at specific areas.
The provinces have pushed back by insisting the provision of health care is a provincial responsibility. But Quebec and Ontario recently have shown some willingness to meet the federal government half-way.
NDP also wants condition on CHT increase
Earlier Monday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make any health-care funding agreement with the provinces conditional on the provinces agreeing not to direct additional resources toward for-profit private health-care providers.
“The prime minister was very strong on this. He said there are going to be conditions. I absolutely agree there should be conditions,” Singh said Monday. “Those conditions should be public money should solve the problem.
“Public money shouldn’t go toward a for-profit clinic being able to have more profit. Our public money should go toward solving the actual problem that we’re up against, which is a shortage of health-care workers.”
Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced his province would significantly expand the number of medical procedures that can be performed at privately run clinics in Ontario.
The expansion will start with diagnostic clinics performing 14,000 cataract operations a year before the program is expanded to allow clinics to offer MRI and CT imaging, colonoscopies and endoscopies.
Ford said these procedures will be covered by OHIP, the provincial health plan, and stressed that patients will “never use their credit cards” at the clinics.
Singh criticized the move and Trudeau’s description of the expansion as “innovation,” saying that public money should be used to bring more services into the public envelope.
Dr. Alika Lafontaine, president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), said he’d like to see Ottawa include a condition in the proposed deal requiring that any federal funding boost be spent on health care.
“The idea that Canada Health Transfers end up going just to a general revenue fund, to be spent any way that a province or territory wants to spend it — it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Lafontaine told Power & Politics guest host Catherine Cullen in an interview Monday.
Lafontaine said the CMA is more interested in where the increased funding will be spent than in the actual sum.
“What we’ve done in previous years is pour more money into a system that produces outcomes that really aren’t what we need,” he said.
“My big concern is that we might be doing that again if we don’t determine what we’re going to do different.”
Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief RoseAnne Archibald criticized Trudeau for not inviting Indigenous representation to the meeting, and called on the prime minister to extend an invitation.
“First Nations inclusion into the first ministers’ meeting is critical,” Archibald said in a news release Monday. “We’ll not be ‘advocated for’ while we wait outside of rooms where we belong.”
News
Ontario Legislature keffiyeh ban remains, though Ford and opposition leaders ask for reversal – CBC.ca
Keffiyehs remain banned in the Ontario Legislature after a unanimous consent motion that would have allowed the scarf to be worn failed to pass at Queen’s Park Thursday.
That vote, brought forth by NDP Leader Marit Stiles, failed despite Premier Doug Ford and the leaders of the province’s opposition parties all stating they want to see the ban overturned. Complete agreement from all MPPs is required for a motion like this to pass, and there were a smattering of “nos” after it was read into the record.
In an email on Wednesday, Speaker Ted Arnott said the legislature has previously restricted the wearing of clothing that is intended to make an “overt political statement” because it upholds a “standard practice of decorum.”
“The Speaker cannot be aware of the meaning of every symbol or pattern but when items are drawn to my attention, there is a responsibility to respond. After extensive research, I concluded that the wearing of keffiyehs at the present time in our Assembly is intended to be a political statement. So, as Speaker, I cannot authorize the wearing of keffiyehs based on our longstanding conventions,” Arnott said in an email.
Speaking at Queen’s Park Thursday, Arnott said he would reconsider the ban with unanimous consent from MPPs.
“If the house believes that the wearing of the keffiyeh in this house, at the present time, is not a political statement, I would certainly and unequivocally accept the express will of the house with no ifs, ands or buts,” he said.
Keffiyehs are a commonly worn scarf among Arabs, but hold special significance to Palestinian people. They have been a frequent sight among pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the violence in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas� war continues.
Premier calls for reversal
Ford said Thursday he’s hopeful Arnott will reverse the ban, but he didn’t say if he would instruct his caucus to support the NDP’s motion.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Ford said the decision was made by the speaker and nobody else.
“I do not support his decision as it needlessly divides the people of our province. I call on the speaker to reverse his decision immediately,” Ford said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated Thursday that he does not support Speaker Ted Arnott banning keffiyehs in the Ontario Legislature because they are “intended to be a political statement,” as Arnott said in an email Wednesday.
PC Party MPP Robin Martin, who represents Eglinton–Lawrence, voted against the unanimous consent motion Thursday and told reporters she believes the speaker’s initial ruling was the correct one.
“We have to follow the rules of the legislature, otherwise we politicize the entire debate inside the legislature, and that’s not what it’s about. What it’s about is we come there and use our words to persuade, not items of clothing.”
When asked if she had defied a directive from the premier, Martin said, “It has nothing to do with the premier, it’s a decision of the speaker of the legislative assembly.”
Stiles told reporters Thursday she’s happy Ford is on her side on this issue, but added she is disappointed the motion didn’t pass.
“The premier needs to talk to his people and make sure they do the right thing,” she said.
Stiles first urged Arnott to reconsider the ban in an April 12 letter. She said concerns over the directive first surfaced after being flagged by members of her staff, however they have gained prominence after Sarah Jama, Independent MPP for Hamilton Centre, posted about the issue on X, formerly Twitter.
Jama was removed from the NDP caucus for her social media comments on the Israel-Hamas war shortly after Oct. 7.
Jama has said she believes she was kicked out of the party because she called for a ceasefire in Gaza “too early” and because she called Israel an “apartheid state.”
Arnott told reporters Thursday that he began examining a ban on the Keffiyeh after one MPP made a complaint about another MPP, who he believes was Jama, who was wearing one.
Liberals also call for reversal
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie also called for a reversal of the ban on Wednesday night.
“Here in Ontario, we are home to a diverse group of people from so many backgrounds. This is a time when leaders should be looking for ways to bring people together, not to further divide us. I urge Speaker Arnott to immediately reconsider this move to ban the keffiyeh,” Crombie said.
Keffiyehs are a common garment across the Arab world, but they hold a special meaning in the Palestinian resistance movement.
Stiles said MPPs have worn kilts, kirpans, vyshyvankas and chubas in the legislature, saying such items of clothing not only have national and cultural associations, but have also been considered at times as “political symbols in need of suppression.”
She said Indigenous and non-Indigenous members have also dressed in traditional regalia and these items cannot be separated from their historical and political significance.
“The wearing of these important cultural and national clothing items in our Assembly is something we should be proud of. It is part of the story of who we are as a province,” she said.
“Palestinians are part of that story, and the keffiyeh is a traditional clothing item that is significant not only to them but to many members of Arab and Muslim communities. That includes members of my staff who have been asked to remove their keffiyehs in order to come to work. This is unacceptable.”
Stiles added that House of Commons and other provincial legislatures allow the wearing of keffiyehs in their chambers and the ban makes Ontario an “outlier.”
Suppression of cultural symbols part of genocide: MPP
Jama said on X that the ban is “unsurprising” but “nonetheless concerning” in a country that has a legacy of colonialism. “Part of committing genocide is the forceful suppression of cultural identity and cultural symbols,” she said in part.
“Seeing those in power in this country at all levels of government, from federal all the way down to school boards, aid Israel’s colonial regime with these tactics in the oppression of Palestinian people proves that reconciliation is nothing but a word when spoken by state powers,” she said.
Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said on X that it is “deeply ironic” on that keffiyehs were banned in the Ontario legislature on the 42nd anniversary of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“This is wrong and dangerous as we have already seen violence and exclusion impact Canadians, including Muslims of Palestinian descent, who choose to wear this traditional Palestinian clothing,” Elghawaby said.
Arnott said the keffiyeh was not considered a “form of protest” in the legislature prior to statements and debates that happened in the House last fall.
“These items are not absolutes and are not judged in a vacuum,” he said.
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Best in Canada: Jets Beat Canucks to Finish Season as Top Canadian Club The Hockey News
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Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
The policy change would remove the current donor screening criteria, allowing men who have sex with men to legally donate sperm for the first time in more than 30 years, as part of the anonymous donation process.
This update comes after CTV News first reported last year that a gay man was taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of the policy on the basis that it violates the right to equality in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
According to an email Health Canada sent stakeholders informing them of the upcoming amendments to the federal directive, “sperm donors will instead be asked gender-neutral, sexual behaviour-based donor screening questions,” more in-line with the 2022 change made by Canadian Blood Services to its donation policy.
However, instead of entirely eradicating restrictions for gay and bisexual men, lawyer Gregory Ko – whose client, Aziz M., brought the case – cautioned that Health Canada will continue to bar donations from those who have had new or multiple partners in the last three months, based on rules regarding anal sex. CTV News has agreed to protect the full identity of Aziz M. out of concerns for his privacy.
Ko said while the update is an important milestone, his client intends to maintain his challenge against the Health Canada directive, “and the continued discrimination contained in this latest revision.”
“Based on our understanding of the science, there is no scientific justification for screening criteria that continues to discriminate on the basis of sexual activity and sexual orientation, since the testing and quarantine protocols already in place allow sperm banks to detect relevant infections and exclude such donations,” Ko said.
Currently, a Health Canada directive prohibits gay and bisexual men from donating sperm to a sperm bank for general use, unless they’ve been abstinent for three months or are donating to someone they know.
For example, it stops any gay man who is sexually active from donating, even if they are in a long-term monogamous relationship.
Under the “Safety of Sperm and Ova Regulation,” sperm banks operating in Canada must deem these prospective donors “unsuitable,” despite all donations being subject to screening, testing and a six-month quarantine before they can be used.
While the directive does not mention transgender or non-binary donors, the policy also applies to individuals who may not identify as male but would be categorized as men under the directive.
It’s a blanket policy that the Toronto man bringing the lawsuit said made him feel like a “second-class citizen,” and goes to the heart of the many barriers that exist for LGBTQ2S+ Canadians looking to have children.
When CTV News first reported on the lawsuit, Health Canada and various federal ministers said they would be “exploring” a policy change, citing the progress made on blood donation rules.
The update comes following “the consultations held in August 2023 and January 2024,” according to Health Canada.
This is a breaking news story, more to come…
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