Ottawa’s transfers to P.E.I. to jump by $85 million next year
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Name it an early Christmas present from Parliament Hill.
Starting within the new yr, switch funds from Ottawa to P.E.I. will leap by 11 per cent, rising by $85 million, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland introduced on Dec. 16.
This represents the largest one-year enhance in switch fee the province has seen in 10 years. General, P.E.I. will obtain $855 million in federal transfers within the 2023-2024 fiscal yr, up from $770 million within the present yr.
A lift to the province’s general equalization funds represents the largest portion of the rise in transfers at $58 million. P.E.I. will obtain $561 million in equalization in 2023-2024, up from $503 million within the earlier yr.
The province’s Canada Well being Switch will enhance by $22 million to $220 million in 2023-2024, up from $198 million within the present yr.
The Canada Social Switch will enhance by $3 million for P.E.I. – from $70 million to $73 million.
In a letter to P.E.I. Finance Minister Mark McLane, posted publicly on the Division of Finance web site, Freeland stated general Canada Well being Switch funds to all provinces will enhance by 9.3 per cent from the present fiscal yr.
Freeland’s letters pressured the challenges going through the health-care system nationally.
“Enhancing our well being programs for Canadians is a shared accountability, and we should make sure that new and current funding will ship significant outcomes, together with improved entry to household well being, psychological well being and higher knowledge,” Freeland stated.
Canadian Premiers, together with P.E.I. Premier Dennis King, have been urgent the federal authorities to extend its share of funding for the nation’s ailing health-care system.
A press release launched by the premiers final week stated the federal authorities ought to enhance Canada Well being Switch funding to 35 per cent of well being prices from its present degree of twenty-two per cent.
The premiers have additionally launched a print and radio advert marketing campaign calling for a brand new settlement on well being funding from the federal authorities.
The federal authorities has disputed the accuracy of the 22 per cent share determine, pointing to further health-care spending supplied by Ottawa through the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ottawa has additionally been asking that any enhance in long-term health-care funding be tied to verifiable enhancements within the healthcare system, comparable to improved health-care knowledge programs.
The continuing federal-provincial dispute has continued amid a spate of tax cuts and mass fee packages initiated by provinces. This consists of P.E.I.’s deliberate $58 million in cost-of dwelling funds, resulting from be acquired by as much as 117,000 people by January.
The funds are resulting from arrive in the beginning of an election yr for King.
