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    • Provincial-federal turf battles over health, housing on agenda of premiers meeting in Halifax

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    Healthcare, housing and the environment will be on the agenda as Canada’s premiers gather in Halifax for the annual summer meeting of the Council of the Federation.

    The 13 leaders will also be pushing back on federal encroachment of provincial and territorial responsibility even as they demand help for their priorities.

    In a letter sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week, the premiers urged the federal government "to refrain from unilateral actions in areas of provincial and territorial jurisdiction, particularly in healthcare, education, and housing."

    "We hope this letter will serve as an invitation to engage with premiers on ways to renew our relationship so that we can collectively deliver for Canadians,†continued the letter signed by Premier of Nova Scotia, Tim Houston, who is the Chair of the federation for this year.

    Housing flashpoint

    In the past year, the federal government has increasingly bypassed the province to channel billions of dollars directly to municipalities to build apartments to deal with the massive housing shortages.

    Provinces, in particular Quebec, have also placed the blame for housing shortages and increased pressure on the province’s social welfare costs on the federal government’s immigration policies. Premier Francois Legault has demanded that Ottawa reduce the number of temporary immigrants in the province and pay the costs linked to their housing and care. In June the federal government agreed to to help pay for the surge in temporary migrants and distribute would-be refugees across the country.

    Healthcare accountability

    As the premiers meet, a new Environics poll released by the Canadian Health Coalition shows that 74 per cent of Canadians say that health care in their province is in crisis.

    The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and its provincial and territorial counterparts are urging the leaders to "stabilize the health system."

    "We must plan for a better future, where patients can get the care they need in a timely fashion and physicians and other health professionals can work in a safe, well-resourced environment," said the letter signed by the presidents of the CMA and 11 other provincial and territorial medical associations.

    According to the CMA, patients were waiting up to 22 hours in emergency rooms this past winter. The problem has been compounded by the fact that an estimated 6.5 million Canadians do not have a family physician. The letter notes that climate change will make the "overstretched health system more vulnerable to climate-related health risks and emergencies, including floods, wildfires, heat domes and other extreme weather events."

    Reluctant provincial partner

    Alberta has refused to be a provincial partner in two new federal health programs. Premier Danielle Smith wrote Justin Trudeau last month to inform the prime minister that Alberta would opt out of the dental care program in 2026. Alberta also plans to that would provide Canadians with free diabetes medication and birth control.

    "Alberta intends to opt out of the program, and to instead receive our full per capita share of that funding for deployment into our provincial health-care system," has said.

    The Liberal minority government, supported by the NDP, earmarked $1.5 billion dollars for pharmacare over the next five years in its 2024 budget.

    Ontario Premier Doug Ford will take over chair of the Council of the Federation next year.

    The premier's office says one of his focuses will be getting new publicly funded medicines to people as fast as possible. A spokesperson for Ford notes that patients in Canada wait almost two years to access life-saving breakthrough medicine, "a year longer than other developed countries, placing us last in the G7."

    The premiers will begin their three-day gathering by meeting with national indigenous leaders first on Monday. 

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    • On Sept. 20, Justice R.E. Nation of the Alberta Court of King's Bench found Craig McMorran guilty of fraud, money laundering and stealing a cottage from its rightful owners.

    • Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after a Durham officer discharged a Taser and an anti-riot weapon at a 15-year-old boy in north Oshawa on Sunday.

    • The City of Montreal has issued a lockdown notice for residents in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough due to smoke from a fire in a container storing 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries in the Port of Montreal.

    • Authorities are investigating a report that violence erupted on a pickleball court in B.C.'s Lower Mainland over the weekend.

    • Police say a toddler in Cambridge, Ont., who was reported missing early Monday morning, has since died.

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    • Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, season is just a few months away, but new vaccine options have already arrived for Ontario residents who may be vulnerable to the winter bug.

    • There are 'no restrictions' on the right to receive health services in Quebec for English speakers, according to a new clarification document issued by the Quebec Health Ministry on Monday.

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    • BC Conservative leader John Rustad dropped a major policy plan Sunday, pledging to eliminate supervised drug consumption sites across B.C. and replace them with intake centres for treatment and recovery.

    • B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered WestJet to refund a family in full for their diverted flight and compensate them for associated costs.

    • A rainfall warning is in effect for Toronto and many other regions across southern Ontario with Environment Canada calling for up to 50 millimetres of rainfall over a period of less than 24 hours.

    • Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, season is just a few months away, but new vaccine options have already arrived for Ontario residents who may be vulnerable to the winter bug.

    • A pedestrian has died and another is injured following a two-vehicle collision in Toronto's west end, paramedics say.

    • After four months of water conservation measures, the City of Calgary has lifted all restrictions.

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    • A fire in a container at one of the Port of Montreal's terminals prompted the city to issue a containment notice for the area adjacent to the port on Monday evening, in the Mercier--Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough.

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    • Monday marked the official start of Reconciliation Week in Lethbridge.

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    • After playing the lottery for more than 40 years, a Greater Sudbury woman made a huge windfall playing a scratch ticket game.

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    • Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 36-year-old suspect with drug trafficking and other charges following a weekend raid of a residence on Robin Street.

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