Premier says new money from Ottawa would mean $1B more for Nova Scotia over a decade

Premier Tim Houston says Nova Scotia stands to gain an additional $1 billion from Ottawa under a proposed increase in federal health-care funding over the next decade.

Houston and the rest of Canada's premiers met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on Tuesday to receive the proposal. Ottawa is pitching a 10-year, $196-billion plan for the provinces and territories, $46 billion of which would be new money.

"We're spending a significant amount on health care," Houston told Nova Scotia reporters during a virtual call after the meeting.

"We'll continue to spend more and more on health care so the federal government's recognition of that, of the burden of the cost on the provinces, is an important thing."

Houston said Nova Scotia's share of the proposal would mean $154 million in new money this year, including an increase in the Canada Health Transfer of $52 million.

'Absorbed very quickly'

The subsequent years of the offer would provide an additional $102 million each year through a bilateral agreement between the federal government and Nova Scotia. With costs continuing to climb, Houston said that money would be helpful but "absorbed very quickly."

The last provincial budget included $5.7 billion in health-care spending, which accounted for about 43 per cent of the overall budget.

Ottawa has said bilateral agreements with the provinces would need to be focused on specific areas, including primary care, health workers, backlogs, mental health and modernizing health systems.

That won't be a problem in Nova Scotia, said Houston. His government is deficit spending as it tries to attract and retain more health-care workers and improve facilities. It also recently announced plans to introduce a digital medical record system.

Per capita problem

A long-standing bone of contention for Nova Scotia premiers has been that Ottawa's funding is based on a per-capita formula, which does not reflect the more costly treatments required by Nova Scotia's older and sicker patients.

Although that has not changed with the most recent proposal for the Canada Health Transfer, Houston said there is a "little sliver of movement" in the bilateral agreement that would recognize the realities of Nova Scotia's aging population.

"I'm pleased with that recognition in today's proposal," he said, adding that he would push for further progress.

Although there are more details to work out and nothing has been signed yet, Houston said he's confident new money could be ready in time to be included in the upcoming provincial budget.

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