B.C. first province to sign individual health deal with feds, worth $1.2 billion

British Columbia is the first province to sign a tailored funding agreement with the federal government as part of the $196-billion health accord the prime minister offered provinces earlier this year.

The deal will see Ottawa shift $1.2 billion to B.C. over three years.

Health Minister Mark Holland told a news conference at Vancouver General Hospital on Tuesday that the funding also comes with a commitment for federal support for B.C.’s health-care system for the next 10 years.

Holland said the support aims to take the Canadian health-care system "from one of the best" in the world to "the best."

📍Vancouver

Today, our government signed a healthcare funding agreement with #BC! This is just the beginning – we are working to sign agreements with every province and territory to deliver better results for Canadians. pic.twitter.com/skuuJVWMJO

— Mark Holland (@markhollandlib) October 10, 2023

In exchange, the province has developed a plan to increase patient access to team-based family health care and mental health and addictions services.

The B.C. government has also agreed to work with the First Nations Health Authority to improve access to culturally appropriate and trauma-informed treatment and care. 

The province will increase access to mental health and addictions services as the overdose crisis continues at a relentless pace, despite the declaration of a public health emergency in April 2016. 

B.C. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside said the agreement supports their plans to help youth in treatment and recovery services, "so more young people can get the free, confidential and timely care they need, right in their own communities."

Adrian Dix, B.C.'s minister of health, said the agreement will allow the government to support its health care workers across the province. 

"This bilateral agreement with the Government of Canada will help us in delivering the health services and access that people need, are counting on, and that we're strengthening," Dix said in a statement. 

The one-on-one deal is part of a national health accord that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered provinces in February in response to the ongoing health-care crisis.

So far, all provinces and territories have agreed to the deal in principle, except Quebec.