Candidate for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), Jean Charest vowed to create “more space for the private sector in health care delivery”, by giving provinces “more flexibility”, but while ensuring that it is “the State that pays” and the citizen “does not pay a cent out of his own pocket”.
In an exclusive interview given to Radio-Canada, the former Premier of Quebec also promised to create $ 10 billion in health infrastructure funds to invest in the construction of hospitals and clinics as well as in the purchase of technological equipment.
Jean Charest is also open to the provinces ’request for Ottawa to increase health transfers to Canada by $ 28 billion to supply 35% of care, but with some caveats.
35% is a request that seems very legitimate to me. Can we get there quickly and at once? This is far from certaindid he declare.
The candidate for the leadership of CCP believes we need to first learn the lessons of COVID, then modernize the Canada Health Act, before engaging in funding negotiations while respecting provincial jurisdictions.
Jean Charest’s message on health also contained a populist note that slightly resembled a speech given by his opponent Pierre Poilievre.
” Justin Trudeau showed us that he would rather keep Canadians confined to their homes than change Canada’s health care system. After more than two years of health restrictions, we clearly need changes, not ideologies. “
More private space
Jean Charest suggested giving major changes to the Canada Health Actin consultation with the provinces, to redefine federal guidelines on this issue.
The time has come in our history to break the Canada Health Act jam, to free the hands of the provinces to better serve patientshe said.
What form this review will take remains unclear, but Jean Charest clearly wants to give provinces more flexibility for the delivery of care, including more collaboration with the private sector, as he did in 2006 when he was Premier of Quebec.
Bill 33 allowed Quebecers to take out private insurance to undergo knee, hip and cataract surgeries at private clinics associated with the hospital network.
” Why not switch to private sector operations that can be done without harming hospitals? Canadians will not pay a single cent out of pocket. There will be a single payer: the state pays. “
Hip and knee replacement surgeries as well as cataracts are already being performed by private clinics in some provinces.
Jean Charest added that the provinces will decide which method of delivering care is most appropriate to their reality.
Jean Charest’s main opponents in the race for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre and Patrick Brown, have not publicly expressed their position on increasing health transfers to the provinces.
Previously, Pierre Poilievre mentioned the possibility of imposing certain conditions on the provinces regarding health care funding. He raised the idea of non-payment of health transfers in provinces that agree to pay for gender reassignment operations as well as transition services for transgender people.
The visible career leader stressed in his speeches that he wanted to speed up the recognition of diplomas for workers who have studied abroad, including in the health system, to reduce waiting time. A position shared by Jean Charest.
Source: Radio-Canada