Atlantic
Premiers Statement on Health Care
The four Atlantic
Premiers, Pat Binns, John Hamm, Bernard Lord and Brian Tobin agreed today to
focus on health care as their top priority at the upcoming Premiers meeting
in Quebec City. They issued the following joint statement: Although
facing numerous other challenges in the Atlantic region at this time, we
have agreed to set aside other priorities and present a united call that the
federal government make health care its number one priority in the upcoming
federal budget. We are also
calling on our colleagues, the other premiers, to join with us in presenting
a united front on this matter at the premiers meeting to be held in Quebec
City on February 3rd. Maintaining
the integrity and stability of the healthcare system is the top priority of
Canadians and must become the number one priority of the federal government.
Canadians expect their federal government to be a full partner in the
health care system and to support consistent and comparable standards of
service across the country. This
cannot happen when the federal government only contributes 13 cents to every
dollar spent on health. The
current stresses on the health system across Canada will continue to
escalate into a full-blown crisis if the federal government fails to
reinvest a significant portion of its growing federal surplus into health
care now. We
are encouraged by federal Minister of Health Allan Rock�s recent
commitment to cooperate on adverting the crisis, but believe a meeting with
Ministers of Health cannot wait until May and should be held immediately,
before the federal budget is finalized.
There is an urgent need to stabilize the existing health care system
first, through immediate reinvestments in the upcoming federal budget,
before the federal government pursues additional new programs.
We
agree that federal reinvestment in health must be undertaken through a
combination of restoring federal funding to the Canada Health and Social
Transfer system, adding an escalator to CHST to meet future needs, and
reforming the Canadian equalization program to ensure all provinces can
provide adequate and comparable services. All
governments in this country have committed to a �balanced approach� in
which tax cuts and other measures to stimulate the economy are balanced with
the need to maintain adequate and effective health and social programs.
The federal government has already made clear its intention to
introduce tax cuts in the upcoming budget.
The time has come for it to complete the balance through a
recommitment of funding for health care. Heidi
Bonnell, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, (709) 685-3674 2000
02 02
2:45 p.m. |
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