QUEBEC — Quebec is looking to sign the health transfer agreement with the federal government, though it says funding is “largely inadequate,” three ministers in the Legault government say in a letter excerpted from The Canadian Press.

The needs of Quebec’s healthcare network are urgent, and “for this reason, Quebec intends to use its share of the federal funding proposed on February 7,” the finance and health ministers wrote in their letter sent to Ottawa on Friday by the Canadian Relations and the Canadian Francophonie Minister responsible.

Ministers Eric Girard, Christian Dubé and Jean-François Roberge also say they expect Quebec to use these “unconditional” funds to support its healthcare plan. They say they are enclosing a “draft asymmetric agreement” with the letter that was not included in the excerpts obtained by The Canadian Press.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented provincial and territorial ministerial heads in Ottawa last month with a sweeping offer of $196 billion in federal healthcare funding over 10 years.

Ottawa offered an additional $46.2 billion over ten years, a sixth of what the provinces asked at the meeting. Prime Minister François Legault would thus receive only an additional $1 billion a year out of the $6 billion he hoped to receive from the federal government.

Ottawa has gradually formed bilateral agreements with each of the provinces. As of Wednesday, only Quebec and the three territories remained to settle with the federal government.

“As indicated by the Prime Minister of Quebec and reiterated during our meeting, the federal funding being offered is well below what Quebecers can expect,” the Quebec ministers wrote.

They recall that the prime ministers’ “unanimous demand” was “unambiguous,” namely that the federal contribution should increase from 22% to 35% of their governments’ health spending and remain at that level thereafter.

In the letter, ministers say they expect Ottawa not to dictate health conditions to Quebec.

“(Quebec) intends to do so unconditionally, with the guarantee, as in the context of the asymmetric agreements concluded in 2004 and 2017, that its specificity and its desire to exercise its full autonomy will be fully recognized (…) after their own plans and priorities and not based on the methods proposed in your letter of February 15, 2023, which raises several questions about respect for the sharing of powers,” they write.

Prime Minister Trudeau said in Halifax at the end of February that he recognized that the federal government is not the “boss” of the provinces when it comes to health. However, he said in the same breath that he will hold them accountable to their population thanks to the better data sharing provided for in the agreements to increase transfers.

He also mentioned targets to be negotiated with provinces based on what they believe is achievable.