Canadians split on health funding

Residents divided on privatization, rules for federal transfers: survey

As Premier Danielle Smith and her counterparts prepare to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Tuesday to help improve Canada's shaky health-care system, a new survey shows public opinion is divided on key points like privatization. New data released Monday from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute (ARI) shows that two in five, or 41 per cent of those polled, believe the federal government is right to seek system and reporting reforms from provinces as a condition of increased funding.

But, a similar number, 44 per cent, say the individual provinces should receive additional funding to improve health-care delivery without strings attached.

Those surveyed in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec were all more likely to say their province should receive the funding now and without conditions.

The greatest opposition to that is in Ontario, the only region of the country where a majority, or 54 per cent, said the federal government should receive commitments from the province in order to access additional funding.

The sentiment comes after Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative government announced plans to move some procedures like cataract, hip and knee surgeries to private clinics and pay for the operations using public funds.

Support for that plan, shows the recent poll, is close to half, or 48 per cent, in Ontario, and exceeds the majority in every other region of the country, with respondents asked about the acceptability of this type of plan in their own province.

Other key findings of the survey include:

■ Ontario's decision to shift some surgeries to private clinics is popular among past Conservative voters; seven-in-10 (72 per cent) would support this in their own province. Past Liberals lean slightly toward support (51 per cent to 40 per cent) while past NDP voters push back, with 55 per cent voicing opposition.

■ The number of Canadians reporting poor health care where they live has risen seven points since August, from 61 to 68 per cent. This is reported as worst in Atlantic Canada where half (51 per cent) say health care is in crisis where they live and another one-in-three say it is poor (33 per cent).

■ Those who assess care in their community as poor are most likely to say both levels of government share blame (45 per cent), though 39 per cent blame primarily their provincial government, far more than blame solely the federal government (12 per cent).

SMITH TO ATTEND MEETING ON HEALTH AND `JUST TRANSITION'

Trudeau invited premiers to Ottawa for a “working meeting” Tuesday to discuss health-care funding. Smith's office confirmed to Postmedia last week that she will be there. Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping will accompany her.

Before confirming she will attend the first ministers' meeting on health funding, Smith published an open letter to Trudeau seeking to meet individually with the prime minister to discuss upcoming federal legislation aimed at helping energy workers get jobs in a low-carbon economy.

In a Monday afternoon news release, Rebecca Polak, director of daily communications and press secretary to the premier, said that Smith “will also be meeting with the prime minister to discuss the federal government's proposed just transition legislation and health care.”

Premiers have been seeking a meeting with Trudeau for more than a year amid continued strain on the health-care system.

The provincial leaders want Trudeau to significantly increase the amount of money the federal government contributes to 35 per cent of health-care costs. The federal government argues it already provides that through taxpoint transfer agreements, but the provinces want an increase in the Canada health transfer. Meeting their target would cost the federal treasury $28 billion.

The federal government has said it hopes to have a new deal tabled before it and the provinces table their respective budgets ahead of the end of the fiscal year in March.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted the online survey Feb. 1-3 among a representative randomized sample of 1,726 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by the Angus Reid Institute.