Health money is on the table, up to provinces whether to take it: Trudeau

WINNIPEG — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says tens of billions in federal health transfer payments are there for the taking if the provinces want them.

He also reiterated that Ottawa is offering an additional $5 billion in targeted funding over 10 years for mental-health care.

“We’ve put forward significant amounts of money. It’s (up) to provinces whether they want that money or not,” Trudeau said before a town-hall meeting in Winnipeg.

He did not answer a question about whether he would impose a deadline to reach a deal.

The three territories, three Atlantic provinces and Saskatchewan have signed onto the federal government’s health-funding plan.

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Trudeau said he is looking forward to working with the hold-out provinces “to make sure we’re responding to the needs of Canadians.

“For almost 10 years, the previous government had nothing to do with the provinces on health care … and therefore Canadians felt that their health-care outcomes and system was suffering.”

The prime minister was in the Manitoba capital on Thursday as part of a cross-country tour to meet with Canadians and hear their concerns. It was the same day Manitoba launched an online ad campaign criticizing the federal government’s plan to limit annual increases in health transfer payments.

Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen has said the campaign is intended to educate Manitobans about what the Liberals “are going to do in terms of reducing their health-care services.”

The federal government has been criticized for weeks over its plan to limit how quickly health transfers increase.

A deal reached in 2004 saw transfers rise about six per cent a year for a decade. The Liberal government is offering annual increases of either three per cent or a three-year average of economic growth, whichever is higher.

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott has said the funding increases being offered are significant and will address gaps.

“The $11.5 billion (in mental-health and home care) offer we put on the table in December has the potential to be transformative and make a difference in the lives of Canadians,” she said in an email to The Canadian Press earlier this week.

Goertzen has suggested the hold-out provinces might also conduct public campaigns.

“I can tell you that in the discussions that we’ve had with other provinces, they recognize the need to communicate the difficulty this will put them and their residents in.”

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press