Dayside: Ontario Legislature

Starting the day at the Ontario Legislature. Finance Minister Charles Sousa and Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins, were actively resisting a federal offer regarding health funding transfers. The federal government was pushing provinces to sign individual bilateral health agreements that capped the health transfer growth rate at 3.5% annually (tied to GDP growth), alongside $11.5 billion in targeted funding over 10 years specifically earmarked for mental health and home care.

Ontario and several other provinces were holding out for a 5.2% annual growth rate escalator, arguing that the proposed federal funding model amounted to a long-term reduction in support that would put strain on provincial health systems.