New Brunswick is “close” to reaching a bilateral agreement with the federal government to improve health care after a meeting in Saint John on Wednesday morning.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs and Health Minister Bruce Fitch met with federal Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities Dominic LeBlanc and Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos.
“I think we’re close to coming to an agreement in principle, which would allow New Brunswick to plan how they’ll use these incremental federal dollars,” LeBlanc remarked.
Last week, Canada’s premiers accepted the federal government’s health funding deal, which includes $46.2 billion in new money. For New Brunswick, this will mean an additional $229 million the health sector didn’t have access to last year.
However, the federal government earmarked $25 billion for bilateral agreements tailored to each province’s respective needs.
“It’s probably something that will come to fruition in dollars in early July, but we’ll recognize that in our budget … and we’ll have agreements in place that would say exactly where it’s going to go and what it’s going to be used for,” said Higgs.
Over the 10 years, New Brunswick is expected to receive $900 million through the bilateral agreement.
In light of New Brunswick’s significant budget surplus, which has ballooned to $826 million, critics have voiced concerns over putting more funds into government coffers.
On top of the funding being incremental to the dollars invested by the province, LeBlanc noted that new requirements for provinces to share health data will increase transparency.
“We haven’t found any jurisdictions that believes or says they can reduce their own level of spending. In fact, many are planning increases to meet the increasing demand,” LeBlanc said.
Though New Brunswick remains mum on where this additional funding will be allocated, Higgs reiterated they are prepared to spend on projects proven to be innovative.
The premier referenced a pilot project in Bathurst, where a private clinic provides cataract surgeries.
When asked about whether these types of private clinics are a concern, Duclos said Canadians will continue to be looked at based on their needs, not their wallets.
“Dollars with the federal plan, the federal additional support, those dollars are addressed to supporting this delivery of public health care in Canada,” Duclos said.
The next step is for the province to agree in principal to the agreement, which Fitch said he plans to do in writing to his federal counterpart.
— with files from Silas Brown.