Something jumped out at me yesterday while doomscrolling, which was New Brunswick crowing that they have a bigger-than-expected surplus thanks to all of the additional federal dollars that were sent to the province because of the pandemic. And it stuck in my craw a bit – provinces have been crying poor when it comes to healthcare dollars and around doing things like improving long-term care, and then they turn around and pat themselves on the back for running surpluses as a result of federal dollars. It doesn’t quite add up.

The fact that certain provinces have been using federal pandemic dollars to pad their bottom lines is a problem for Confederation, particularly as these very same provinces are demanding that the federal government turn over even higher healthcare transfers, and justifying it with historically inaccurate talking points about the original share of healthcare spending without also recognizing the other agreements made in the late 1970s. The current federal government is certainly willing to spend the money, but they have also learned that they don’t want to get burned by it like previous governments have. Recall that when the health transfer escalator was at an unsustainable six percent per year, provincial healthcare spending growth was in the low two-percent range, meaning those additional dollars were spent on other things that did not improve the healthcare system. Similarly, when Stephen Harper tried to buy peace with Quebec and sign a huge cheque to correct a fictional “fiscal imbalance,” the provincial government turned around and cut taxes, which wasn’t the intent of said funding, and yet it happened.

It’s with this in mind that Trudeau has promised that there will be strings attached to future health transfers, and he laid out what many of those strings will be in the campaign, whether it’s hiring targets for doctors and nurses, or minimum salaries for long-term care workers. And yes, premiers will bellyache about it, and the opposition parties will take up those cries in the House of Commons, but we have seen repeatedly over this pandemic that the provinces will demand money and then not spend the money they do get. Time for some accountability for dollars – because it’s all coming from the same taxpayer in the end, regardless of which level of government is trying to make their bottom line look better.

Good reads:

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with big city mayors, who are asking for the federal government to cover transit operating shortfalls because of the pandemic.
• Trudeau also announced he would make the special envoy for Holocaust remembrance and fighting antisemitism a permanent post.
• Here is the Star’s take on the Cabinet shuffle, and they’re not expecting it to be announced until the end of the month, which is insane. Six weeks for a shuffle?
• Canada is pledging to nearly double the target to cut methane emissions, largely from the oil and gas sector.
• The federal government looks to be adopting a national standard for vaccine certificates that can be used for travel, possibly in the next few weeks.
• The RCMP say they have implemented 22 recommendations from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission – but the CRCC has no way of verifying this.
• The incoming new head of the Canadian Army is under investigation for sexual misconduct (which he denies).
• The timeline for Canada to start making decisions about replacing its submarine fleet is approaching faster than some might like to admit.
• Here is a look at the Conservatives’ attempt to deal with vaccine mandates, as a statistically improbable two MPs in the caucus claim medical exemptions.
• A group of Chinese-Canadian Conservatives want O’Toole to resign, citing his anti-China rhetoric for the loss of seats (though they also use the regime’s talking points).
• Legal wrangling is keeping Annamie Paul from formally resigning as Green Party leader.
• Quebec backed down on implementing their vaccine mandate for healthcare workers for another month fearing staffing shortages.
• Heather Scoffield explains the global deal around the minimum tax rate that will hopefully help force web giants to start paying taxes in countries they operate in.
• My Xtra column engages in a bit of Cabinet speculation, as it looks like we are gearing up to have the queerest Cabinet in Canadian history.

Odds and ends:

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