CUPE is alarmed by Liberal leader Mark Carney’s failure to defend the Canada Health Act, especially in light of analysis that suggests his balanced budget promise might lead to a freeze in health care transfers to provinces.
At a press conference this week in Calgary, Mr. Carney was asked how he would enforce the Canada Health Act when provincial governments across Canada are promoting increased privatization in direct contravention of federal legislation. Mr. Carney responded only that he is “a believer in working with provinces,” and he will, “work to ensure that all Albertans’ rights… Canadians’ rights are fully respected.”
Canadians need our next federal government to be a strong defender of the Canada Health Act, and to step up with increased funding to support quality health care services. Currently, provinces are allowing patients to be charged illegally, and they are giving public funding to for-profit hospital and clinics, private staffing agencies, and corporations to provide virtual care.
On Thursday, the NDP released analysis of the Liberal leader’s promise to ‘balance the operational budget’ within 3 years. In an interview with Rosie Barton, Mr. Carney defined that as ‘programs that the government runs, transfers to provinces, such as for health and education, transfers to individuals, and debt servicing’.
The NDP analysis showed that in order to keep that promise, the federal government would need to cut $43 billion from its currently budgeted spending by 2027/28, without including the cost of any new spending promises. This is very close to the total amount of planned spending increases across all operational categories, excluding debt servicing, which the federal government has little control over.
Planned Federal Government Operational Spending by Category, billions of dollars
|
Categories of the federal government’s operational budget
|
2024/25
|
2027/28
|
Difference
|
|
Major transfers to provinces, territories, and municipalities
|
$105.5
|
$117.7
|
$12.2
|
|
Other major transfers[1]
|
$101.7
|
$109.7
|
$8.0
|
|
Direct operational spending (federal public service)
|
$123.1
|
$124.5
|
$1.4
|
|
Major transfers to persons (ex. Old Age Security, Canada Child Benefit)
|
$135.3
|
$155.3
|
$20.0
|
|
Total
|
$465.6
|
$507.2
|
$41.6
|
Source: Table A1.7, Outlook for Expenses, Budget 2024, available online: https://www.budget.canada.ca/2024/home-accueil-en.html#pdf
Mr. Carney responded to the NDP analysis by saying that he will “maintain” transfers, but maintaining transfers at their current level is equivalent to a cut in real terms. The last federal budget promised to increase health care transfers at a rate of 5% per year, the minimum required to account for inflation and meet the needs of a growing and aging population.
Freezing federal transfers means opening the door to privatization. It means permanent “hallway medicine”, long wait times, and the shortage of health care workers, leading to a decline in patient care. It also means increasing exhaustion and burnout among health care staff which will lead even more to leave the system.
The next federal government needs to wholeheartedly defend the Canada Health Act by halting privatization, ensuring that public dollars are spent only on public services, and increasing their share of funding so that provinces cannot justify using the private sector to fill in gaps in the public system.
[1] Includes Canadian Dental Care Plan benefits, support for electric vehicle battery manufacturing, and refundable clean economy investment tax credits.