One-time cash injection to go to provinces, territories, cities and First Nations communities
Ryan Patrick Jones – CBC News
Posted: March 25, 2021
{Excerpt} Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said today the federal government plans to provide a one-time payment of $7 billion to provinces, territories, cities and First Nations communities to help them cover the cost of health services, COVID-19 vaccination campaigns and infrastructure projects.
“COVID-19 has placed extreme pressure on health care systems across the country. The pandemic is still here and many parts of our country are facing the threat of a third wave right now,” Freeland told a virtual press conference.
“This money will ensure that our health system will not buckle under the continued strain of the pandemic, under the pressures of the third wave and new variants.”
The proposed cash injection is detailed in a new bill, C-25, that Freeland tabled in the House of Commons this morning.
If passed, it would provide a $4 billion one-time increase to the Canada Health Transfer — the federal government’s primary contribution toward the cost of delivering health services in the provinces and territories. Another $1 billion would fund COVID-19 immunization campaigns across the country.
The remaining $2.2 billion would go to the Gas Tax Fund — a twice-yearly payment to provinces and territories which, in turn, transfer funds to municipalities to support local infrastructure priorities.
To read more, click on: Ottawa proposes $7B top-up to transfers for health care, infrastructure