The Conservative federal government has taken advantage of their majority status and announced that they will reduce funding increases to the provinces for health care in the years ahead.
A smart move on their part -- the Conservatives don't like public health care much, so it is no surprise they don't want to fund it. They have done little or nothing to enforce the Canada Health Act and only announced that they would maintain Canada Health Transfer funding increases in the face of an electoral 'gun' (when they hurriedly made up health care funding policy during the election, after the opposition made health care funding an election issue). And they no doubt are hoping that perceptions about the economy and the fact that they are years from the next election will allow them to slip this through.
But the economy may well improve and an election will come before the Conservatives cut the funding. So our day may come...
CUPE has called for a collaborative approach on public health care funding: don't dictate, negotiate.
A smart move on their part -- the Conservatives don't like public health care much, so it is no surprise they don't want to fund it. They have done little or nothing to enforce the Canada Health Act and only announced that they would maintain Canada Health Transfer funding increases in the face of an electoral 'gun' (when they hurriedly made up health care funding policy during the election, after the opposition made health care funding an election issue). And they no doubt are hoping that perceptions about the economy and the fact that they are years from the next election will allow them to slip this through.
But the economy may well improve and an election will come before the Conservatives cut the funding. So our day may come...
CUPE has called for a collaborative approach on public health care funding: don't dictate, negotiate.
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