The Canada Health Transfer (CHT) is a “big paper shuffle” that local MP Brent Rathgeber and others in the federal government are looking to stop.
Department of Finance Canada figures show the transfers account for about 10 per cent of the federal budget, with roughly $29 billion being allocated to provinces and territories this year — something Rathgeber wants to see change.
“This whole health care transfer just seems to me to be a big paper shuffle … with no net benefit on the end user, which is the person who needs access to the health-care system,” said the Edmonton-St. Albert Conservative Member of Parliament.
He said he would like to see the federal government cease the CHT in coming years as a way to save money while encouraging provincial governments to increase efficiency.
“I think it’s something that we need to talk about,” he said. “It’s an idea that I and others are floating around the backrooms of Parliament for a way to save government money.”
However, his own party is set to introduce legislation ensuring the current annual six-per-cent increase will continue until 2017-18. Then, it will be guaranteed to increase by at least three per cent per year. The CHT is set to be reviewed in 2024.
Rathgeber said if the federal government focused exclusively on federal jurisdictions and cut transfers altogether, it would save billions of dollars annually, likely pushing the annual budget back into the black.
Budget 2012 allocates $59 billion in transfers to provinces and territories for services like education, social programs, children’s programs and health care. The CHT makes up 49 per cent of the transfers.
Of this federal funding, Alberta will receive about $3.7 billion, with roughly $2.3 billion from the CHT for 2012-13 according to the Department of Finance Canada.
Without this funding, the provincial government would be left to finance the health-care system on its own. Although Rathgeber said this would likely result in an increase to provincial taxes, Chris Bourdeau, spokesperson with Alberta Finance, said he couldn’t speculate.
“(The transfers are) an important part of the health care that Albertans receive,” he said. “The Canadian government has a shared role in making sure that health care is delivered to all Canadians properly. Certainly, that dollar amount does make it an important part in how we deliver health care.”
The Alberta government allocated $16 billion towards health care this year, accounting for more than 39 per cent of total expenditures. Of this funding, 84 per cent comes from provincial revenues, 15 per cent comes from the federal government and the remaining one per cent comes from other revenues.
Although Rathgeber said he wants to see an end to federal transfers, the federal budget released March 29 outlines a different plan. Federal health-care funding is set to grow from $27 billion last fiscal year to at least $38 billion by 2018-19.
Bourdeau said the federal government also detailed plans for equal per-capita funding putting Alberta on par with other Canadian provinces.
“We’re very pleased to see that happening and see that moving forward,” he said. “Alberta needs to be treated equally on a per-capita basis. We haven’t been up to this point in time.”
The federal government will spend roughly $273 billion in 2012-13 while collecting roughly $248 billion in taxes and other revenues. This leaves a federal deficit of $24.4 billion, down from $32.3 billion last year.
