Atlantic premiers to meet in P.E.I. following health-care funding talks with feds | Globalnews.ca

The Council of Atlantic Premiers is set to meet in Prince Edward Island Monday.

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King, chair of the council, will host the meeting in Charlottetown with his fellow premiers from the region.

While it’s not clear what the meeting will be about, it comes after all 13 of Canada’s premiers agreed in principle to a funding deal from the federal Liberals presented during a health summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Feb. 7. The deal will infuse $46.2 billion in new money for health care over the next decade to the provinces and territories on top of pre-established health funding streams from Ottawa.

This new federal money includes several elements, including $25 million earmarked for bilateral deals with each individual province and territory to be aimed at targeted measures responsive to the unique needs of each region.

At least two of Atlantic Canada’s four premiers have already held at least one meeting with Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc to start negotiations on their bilateral health accords.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston met with Duclos and LeBlanc last week in their respective provinces, and both shared positive feedback on social media indicating their willingness to work collaboratively with the federal government.

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Houston described his meeting with the two federal ministers as “great”, adding that “when it comes to improving health care for Nova Scotians, our government will always be a partner, not an obstacle.”

Furey said he discussed his province’s “alignment of shared priorities” with Duclos and LeBlanc, “building on the health accord and our plan to improve the health-care system for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”

Altogether, Ottawa will send $196.1 billion to the provinces and territories over the next 10 years under the new funding agreement.

King will host a news conference in Charlottetown at 11:15 a.m. AT, where he will be accompanied by Furey, Houston and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs.

Further details have not been provided.

More to come.

— With files from The Canadian Press

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