When Will Ottawa Put Health Care First?

After a decade of cuts and neglect, it's time for the federal government to start putting health care first, Premier John Hamm said at the conclusion of the first meeting of the new Council of the Federation in Vancouver.

The premiers agreed on Tuesday, Feb. 24, to convene a First Ministers' Summit on health care in the summer and to take steps to improve internal trade and literacy in the workplace.

"Last year, in Nova Scotia, we became the first province in Canada to commit new front-line health-care money to help our doctors, nurses and other health-care workers," said the premier. "But to meet Ottawa's stated goal of reduced wait times, Prime Minister Paul Martin and his finance minister need to act now, adopt the health-care funding recommended by Roy Romanow and meaningfully improve equalization to meet its constitutional objectives."

Currently, Ottawa covers only 16 per cent of health-care costs, despite federal commissioner Roy Romanow's recommendation in November 2002 that funding should increase to 25 per cent. The federal government has also broken the September 2000 promise made by former prime minister Jean Chretien to reform equalization to meet its constitutional objectives of reasonably comparable levels of service at reasonably comparable levels of taxation.

"Nova Scotia respects the wishes of our taxpayers, putting new health-care funding first on its agenda," added the premier. "Why can't the prime minister make the same commitment? Why can't he finally say yes to the patients, the families, the doctors, the nurses and other health-care workers who are counting on Ottawa to be a real funding partner for health care? Why won't he put health care first on his priority list?"

Federal support for health care and other social programs has remained stagnant in Nova Scotia since 1993.

"Nova Scotians find it unacceptable for the prime minister and his government to talk about the Canada Health Act, without being prepared to fund it properly," said the premier. "By ignoring the Romanow report, by ignoring its promises to the people of Canada on equalization, the prime minister seems intent on becoming the father of two-tier health care in Canada. Nova Scotians and all Canadians deserve better."