Premiers optimistic about national health deal, as B.C.'s Eby floats side meetings

British Columbia Premier David Eby says he's optimistic about next week's meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other premiers about health-care funding.

Eby says getting the premiers and Trudeau together in Ottawa leads him to believe a deal to increase core transfer dollars from the federal government to provinces and territories is within reach.

The premiers want Ottawa to cover 35 per cent of health-care costs, up from the current 22 per cent.

Trudeau has said the funding will come with strings attached, including sharing health data and outcomes for a national database.

Eby and several B.C. cabinet ministers are in Ottawa today, where he said he expected to discuss health, public safety, climate change and housing issues with Trudeau and members of his cabinet.

The premier says the primary goal at next week's talks remains making progress on an improved national health funding transfer agreement, but he did not rule out the possibility of the province engaging in separate talks with Trudeau about health care.

These could include discussions about mental health and addictions treatment programs, increasing the numbers of family doctors and expanding home care.

"We'll be talking about core funding for provinces, but with the ability for provinces to have discussions with the federal government about key areas of provincial priority," said Eby at a news conference in Ottawa.

"I am convinced that B.C.'s priorities are not necessarily the same as Quebec's or Nova Scotia's or Newfoundland's."

Eby said the prime minister did not provide financial specifics for the health funding talks next week during his 45-minute meeting with him on Wednesday. The upcoming health-care meeting was one of the primary issues, but providing more trained RCMP officers for rural B.C. communities was also a topic of discussion.

"He said he's going to be bringing forward a very clear and understandable proposal for the premiers," said Eby.

The meeting also included a discussion about the importance of health data to provide accountability for the funding for both the federal and provincial governments, Eby said.

The B.C. premier is also scheduled to meet with Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Thursday in Toronto.

Other premiers optimistic

Ford also said Wednesday he was hopeful the provinces could reach a health-care deal with the federal government after next Tuesday's meeting with the prime minister.

Last month, Ford said the provinces wouldn't be signing individual deals with the federal government.

He echoed Trudeau's recent comments that a deal will not be signed at the Feb. 7 meeting.

"But we should be striking a deal shortly thereafter," the premier said in Brampton, Ont.

Ford has said he wants to use increased federal funding to hire more nurses and doctors, as well as to help tackle the surgical backlog.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said he is also optimistic the provinces and the federal government will come to an agreement.

He said he believes health-care standards should be comparable between provinces where they learn from each other on what works best.

"I think that it's important that we can agree, and I think it's not difficult to agree on what those standards might be," said Higgs at a news conference. "But I think you need to leave it up to the provinces on how we achieve that level of performance because that becomes more sensitive to some than others."

Eby said he expects the federal government to present an offer to the provinces that will result in meaningful talks toward an agreement.

"British Columbians do not want to see the federal government and the provincial government in a bun fight about health-care dollars," he said. "They want to see us deliver for them."