N.B. premier voices opposition to federal health-care deal

While provincial and territorial premiers agreed to a federal health-care funding deal Monday, not all of them are thrilled with what the feds put on the table.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs made his discontent with the federal offer known ahead of the announcement of its approval.

"The money that's being allocated here is not a windfall of any sort,’ Higgs said. “It's certainly better than not having an increase at all, for sure, but as I mentioned, it's a small, small component of what our total healthcare spending is.”

The $200 million being added to the money New Brunswick gets in health funding will not, according to Higgs, solve the province's health-care issues. But for some, it's a start.

"This is a good first step,” said Dr. Mark MacMillan, former president of the N.B. Medical Society. “This is funding that is required to keep the health-care system moving forward, but there is a lot more work to be done as all the premiers and territory leaders have said.”

Paula Doucet, president of the N.B. Nurses Union, tells CTV Atlantic she’s had conversations with federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. She’s also asked his office to look at some type of nurse retention forum.

“This is not just a New Brunswick issue, it's a pan-Canadian and a global issue when it comes to the shortage of health-care workers, so actually having a place for nurses to bring ideas and come up with possible solutions to our downfalls,” she said.

In addition to the money promised by the prime minister, each province can address some of their specific needs through individual deals with the federal government.

It's these bilateral agreements that many are watching closely.

"We're hoping to see commitments on enhancing health-care resources,” MacMillan said. “We're looking for improvements in the technology of health care, and also looking to see some commitments on the collaborative care model.”

"The backlog, the health human resource and access to care are key areas that we need to address,” Doucet said.

According to the premier's office, a meeting has not yet been set to discuss the province's bilateral health funding agreement. The premier has only said “sometime next week.”

"I think there's going to be a pretty easy agreement on what type of priorities need to be set," Higgs said.