“There will be a confrontation” over the intervention in the provincial jurisdiction, says the Quebec Prime Minister.
Author of the article:
Release Date:
March 23, 2022 • 19 minutes ago • 1 minute reading • Join the conversation
Article content
QUEBEC – A battle is brewing between the federal government and the provinces over health care controls.
Article content
An agreement reached on Tuesday between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the new leader of the Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh, violates provincial jurisdiction and has no future, Quebec Prime Minister François Legault said on Wednesday.
If the federal government continues to push its agenda, the Liberal-NDP alliance will “hit a wall,” Legault said, adding that Quebec is not the only province ready to block the federal violation.
“There will be a confrontation,” Legault predicted during a scrum with reporters Wednesday morning, saying Ontario’s Prime Minister Doug Ford is among them on the same wavelength.
On Tuesday, Trudeau and Singh reached an agreement that the NDP should support the minority government until the end of its mandate in 2025, in return for adopting some NDP priorities such as a dental insurance plan for those in financial need and a universal drug insurance plan.
But Legault said health care is under provincial jurisdiction.
“I’m sorry, but the federal government has no jurisdiction to be able to say how much money we put into long-term care, how much we put into mental health,” he said.