'We cannot afford to continue as we are:' Canada's premiers call for feds to fund health care

New Westminster, B.C. -

For the first time since 2019, Canadian premiers are meeting in person in to discuss how to deal with a growing crisis in health care across the country.

From emergency rooms shutting down, persistent staffing shortages and long waits to see family doctors -- provincial leaders are feeling the heat when it comes to healthcare issues.

And they say Ottawa needs to pay up.

B.C. Premier John Horgan is the chair of the Council of the Federation, which is what the group of provincial and territorial leaders calls itself. Premiers will meet Monday and Tuesday in Victoria to speak about healthcare as well as a growing national affordability crisis.

"We have been coming up short across the country for a long, long time because we can't count on a stable partner," Horgan said Monday.

The premiers say Ottawa used to be a 50/50 funding partner and is now only providing roughly a fifth of the costs. They want the feds to put up at least 35 per cent of total funding -- an increase that would cost another $28 billion a year.

Quebec premier Francois Legault said costs for healthcare are increasing due to the population aging, and the need for new technology.

"So we cannot afford to continue as we are doing right now," he added.

FEDS PUSH BACK 

The federal government says the provincial and territorial leaders are fudging the number, citing billions in one-time funding to help with emerging and ongoing health-care woes.

Dominic LeBlanc, the intergovernmental affairs minister, pushed back against the premiers' claims.

"That 22 per cent number the premiers use is fake," he told CTV News Channel.

"They choose to take a set of numbers which do not reflect the federal government's support for public healthcare. But, the prime minister has said we will absolutely talk to them about how to increase federal support for healthcare."

Horgan, who is leading the charge to get more money from Ottawa, countered by saying it was "disingenuous" to suggest the federal government was carrying the load when it comes to funding the system.

Also on the agenda is an intense worker shortage facing nearly every industry -- including health care.

Monday’s meeting comes as a group representing emergency room doctors across the country calls for the premiers to address staff shortages.

The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians says the priority needs to be the recruitment and retention of health-care workers.

“What we really need is targeted investment in these areas over many years. They have been underfunded to the point that now we have no redundancy left in the acute care system and it's starting to fail,” said Dr. Michael Howlett, president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians.

With costs for housing, gas and groceries rising the premiers are also looking for a broader affordability fix, particularly since the economic fallout from the pandemic is still being deeply felt by individuals, households and businesses from coast to coast to coast.

The meeting wraps up Tuesday with a closing press conference where all premiers will be available.

With files from The Canadian Press