Canada’s Prime Ministers enter the final day of the Summer Meetings in Victoria, BC

Canada’s Prime Ministers meet in Victoria today after a day of talks dominated by health care.

Affordability and economic recovery issues are among other topics to be discussed during the summer sessions of the Federation Council, which conclude today.

On Monday, the prime ministers called on the federal government to increase its share of the financing of the health system from the current 22 percent to 35 percent in view of the staff shortage.

BC Premier John Horgan, chairman and host of the council, says the healthcare system needs to be reimagined with a plan for sustainable human resources and stable federal funding.

He says it’s been eight months since the federal government promised to meet with prime ministers to develop a strategy for restoring the health system and that this meeting is overdue.

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Canada’s prime ministers are calling for additional funding for healthcare as hospitals buckle under pressure

According to Horgan, the prime ministers are also exchanging ideas on tackling inflation and the skyrocketing cost of living, and they hope to see significant federal support in this area as well.

“The ideas in Quebec are just as valid there as they are in British Columbia,” Horgan said Monday.

While some of the causes are global, like the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian aggression in Ukraine, the impact is local and requires sustained intervention, he said.

“These are seismic issues shaking the international economy and we are not immune to them. But we are working together to find best practices – what can we do in our respective areas of responsibility – and most importantly, how can we work together with the federal government to overcome these challenges.”