Provinces warn patients and health-care jobs face a cliff when agreements end in March 2027
Federal agreements worth $1.2bn for mental health, addictions and home care expire next March across every province and territory.
In a statement released on Thursday, October 1, health ministers from across the country said failure to renew the agreements in this year's budget would bring "profound and negative" effects on patients and health-care jobs, according to The Canadian Press.
The ministers met earlier that week with their finance counterparts to discuss the expected loss.
Their statement said they are "united in calling on the federal government to come to the table as a full and committed funding partner and urgently provide certainty that Canadians will continue to have access to the life-saving care and services they need."
The end of the dedicated agreements amounts to a "fiscal cliff" that will have a real impact on patients, the ministers said, warning of possible job losses in the health sector.
Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara told reporters that mental health needs are increasing and the government opposes what Asagwara called "the largest cut to health care in a generation," in remarks carried by The Canadian Press.
The federal government pledged $200bn in additional health funding over 10 years in the 2023 budget, intended to expand access to primary care, reduce surgery backlogs, improve mental health and addiction services and modernize the health system following widespread problems during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Within that total, $4.8bn was set aside over four years for home care, community care and mental health and addiction services, ending in March 2027.
A further $3bn for long-term care safety was set to sunset in 2026, and $1.7bn for personal support worker wages will be paid out by 2028.
Dedicated mental health and addictions funding over the last decade has produced programs and services across Canada, from youth programs to early intervention and caregiver support, Marion Cooper, president and lead executive officer of the Canadian Mental Health Association, told The Canadian Press.
Cooper said need remains in the community even at the current funding level, and she opposes any reduction in targeted funding.
She said governments and advocacy organizations broadly agree that dedicated funding is needed.
She also said funding folded into a broader Canada Health Transfer may not reach mental health or community-based services.
The Canada Health Transfer is guaranteed to grow by five percent each year until 2028.
The federal budget states the transfer will grow by a minimum of three percent per year after that date, and premiers say the five percent floor must be maintained.
Ottawa announced its first renewed health-care funding deal on Monday, October 5, worth $51.2m over seven years with the Northwest Territories, as it works to secure seven-year agreements with each province and territory.
Health Canada said the renewed Working Together bilateral agreement supports a four-year action plan covering primary care, the health workforce, and mental wellness and suicide prevention services.
The initial three-year agreements ended on March 31.
"All Canadians want the same thing: a health care system that works," federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel said in a media statement carried by The Canadian Press.
Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Minister Lucy Kuptana said the agreement does include money for mental health and wellness programs, but "it's never enough, and especially in the Northwest Territories, because we're dealing with 33 communities, most of them rural and remote."
Michel and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne declined to take part in the ministers' meeting, the health ministers said.
The provincial and territorial ministers are set to meet Michel in Winnipeg later in October, and Champagne is set to release the Liberals' latest fiscal plan later this fall.
