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CTV News
23-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Trump ‘acting like the enemy,' Ford says as premiers wrap final day of meetings
The Canadian premiers speak to the media during the 2025 summer meetings of Canada's Premiers at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ont., on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Following a day of talks focused on domestic issues, such as bail reform and health transfers, Canada's premiers are wrapping up their three-day gathering in Muskoka presenting a united front in the ever-looming threat of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. 'We can walk and chew gum at the same time,' New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said during a post-meeting press conference. 'What's happened is that the pressing threats that Donald Trump has made to our economy have meant that instead of occupying all of our meetings and squeezing out conversations about bail reform and immigration, we've been meeting a lot more.' 'We've spent a lot more time together in my entire tenure as premier in just eight months than I think my predecessor would have spent in six years,' Holt also said. The premiers are wrapping up three days of meetings in Huntsville, Ont., hosted by Ontario Premier and Council of the Federation Chair Doug Ford. While the provincial and territorial leaders have covered topics ranging from internal trade barriers to health transfers and immigration, the threat of Trump and his trade war loomed large. Prime Minister Mark Carney also joined the premiers in Muskoka for a meeting on Tuesday, aimed mostly at giving an update on the state of negotiations with the United States. While Carney has given an Aug. 1 deadline to hash out a new economic and security deal with the U.S. — pushing it back from an earlier mid-July date — the prime minister signalled Tuesday he's prioritizing getting 'the best deal' over the timeline. Many premiers said Tuesday they have faith in the federal government as a negotiating team, while Trump's pledge to raise tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 per cent on Aug. 1 fast approaches. During the post-meeting press conference on Wednesday, Quebec Premier François Legault said the Muskoka gathering gave the premiers an opportunity for 'two-for-one' talks, both on domestic issues amongst themselves and on trade negotiations with Carney. Legault said considering the impending Aug. 1 deadline for higher tariffs, the chance to meet with the prime minister was 'necessary.' Earlier Wednesday, Ford said: 'Trump himself is acting like the enemy.' 'I have no problem, but I don't trust President Trump as far as I can throw him,' Ford said, when asked whether he'd be satisfied waiting until 2026 to renegotiate the Canada-U.S. Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), the date by which the free trade deal is already set for review. 'He constantly changes his mind, you just don't know who you're dealing with,' the Ontario premier added. Premiers support waiting for best deal Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, meanwhile, said she would prefer to have the CUSMA renegotiation process accelerated, especially with Trump 'getting quite aggressive' on certain sectoral tariffs, such as those targeting autos, steel, aluminum, and copper, to name a few. 'I'm watching Truth Social along with everyone else, because things could change in five minutes,' Smith said during the premiers' final press conference. 'But what we're hearing from the Americans, it looks like they're putting off a full renegotiation of the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement until next year. I find that disappointing.' 'If we can come up with some kind of common arrangement on those sectoral agreements by Aug. 1, we'll look at that as a win,' Smith also said. 'And if it takes a little bit longer to renegotiate (the) Canada-U.S. free trade agreement to make sure that we get it right, then I'm supportive of that.' Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he's also in favour of waiting on a good deal instead of rushing into a weaker one. After spending the bulk of Tuesday focused on Trump and presenting a united front with the American administration, the premiers shifted to domestic policy on Wednesday, discussing health transfers and bail reform. Deal by deadline 'highly unlikely': former ambassador In an interview on The Vassy Kapelos Show across the iHeart Radio network on Wednesday, former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton said he believes it's 'highly unlikely' Canada and the U.S. will reach a 'comprehensive deal' by Aug. 1. 'It may take longer, and I think it probably will,' he said. MacNaughton served as Canada's diplomat in Washington throughout the original CUSMA negotiations during Trump's first term. With files from CTV News' Rachel Aiello and Samantha Pope
CBC
06-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Nova Scotia recoups $3.7M in health-transfer clawbacks from Ottawa
Ottawa has paid Nova Scotia several million dollars in health transfers that were previously withheld because of people paying out of pocket for private MRIs and ultrasounds. According to the federal government, no one in Canada should pay for medically necessary diagnostic imaging services, and it's been clawing back money from Nova Scotia and other provinces for allowing it to happen. However, Nova Scotia and Ottawa have come to an agreement that recently resulted in a reimbursement of $3.79 million — the total amount clawed back over the past three years. The payment was finalized in March. "It's been a long time coming," said Katherine Fierlbeck, a professor of political science at Dalhousie University who studies health policy. She noted many other provinces have already made arrangements to reduce or eliminate privately funded medical imaging to have their health transfers reimbursed. Fierlbeck said she has a long list of questions about the details of the agreement, some of which she's hoping will be answered in Health Canada's annual report on transfer payments. The report is typically tabled in Parliament each March, but the House wasn't sitting from the start of January to the end of May — the result of a prorogation and then the federal election. The report has yet to be tabled since the new session began last week. Health Canada released the reimbursement numbers to CBC News on request, along with a brief explanation. Contract with private clinic A spokesperson for Health Canada said the key reason for the reimbursement is "efforts taken by Nova Scotia to eliminate patient charges at the private clinic." The private clinic they refer to is Healthview, which offers MRIs and ultrasounds. Nova Scotia Health (NSH) signed a contract with the Halifax imaging clinic last May to send some patients there at the public expense. A spokesperson for NSH said 2,278 MRIs and 585 ultrasounds were publicly funded at Healthview in the first year of the five-year, $7.6-million agreement. Patients who NSH sends to Healthview are triaged in the same way as patients who go to public clinics. Privately funded imaging continues But the contract with Healthview does not entirely eliminate cases of patients paying for medically necessary imaging. Healthview still accepts patients who want to pay to jump the queue, and at least two other private clinics in Halifax do the same. Wosler Diagnostics opened last summer, offering ultrasound only, and Why Wait Imaging opened earlier this year, offering ultrasounds and MRIs. NSH confirmed it does not have contracts with either of these clinics. Fierlbeck said this is hard to reconcile with the fact the province received a full reimbursement of health transfer clawbacks. WATCH | Why Nova Scotia was losing out on health transfer payments: Why N.S. is losing out on health transfers as private medical imaging grows 5 months ago Duration 2:18 With long waits for ultrasounds and MRIs, some Nova Scotians are paying to get care sooner at private clinics. But Ottawa says those services should be publicly funded and it's punishing Nova Scotia for allowing patients to pay. Taryn Grant has the story. "If it's only partial coverage, I would have thought that the ministry would say 'OK, partial coverage, we'll give you partial reimbursement,'" Fierlbeck said. She said covering some services at private clinics — but not all — makes for a "thinly veiled two-tier system." The Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness would not make anyone available for an interview. Health authority working on imaging backlogs The underlying issue that's pushing many Nova Scotians to seek private medical imaging is a backlog in the public health-care system, with some people waiting months or years for MRIs and ultrasounds. Dr. Tim Mailman said the problem is complex and has been years in the making, but Nova Scotia Health is "laser-focused" on improvements. Mailman, senior medical director of the diagnostics and therapeutic services network, said the main bottleneck is staffing; there's a shortage of imaging technologists. "Let's use MRI as an example," he said in an interview earlier this year. "If we were able to run our current MRIs across the province [for] extended hours, we have enough MRIs to meet the demand." Mailman said there's a "complex workforce strategy" in the works to address that issue. Additionally, Mailman said the health authority is working on a central intake system to streamline booking. He said he expects it will reduce duplication and no-shows, and ultimately shorten wait times. The health authority is expecting the system to come online this summer. Mailman said the health authority is also working on training and support for clinicians to make sure they're sending patients for the most appropriate type of imaging. "As a provider myself, I can tell you it's not always easy … I still call my phone-a-friend radiologist to say, 'With this specific situation, should I be asking for a CT? Should I be asking for an MRI?' "It's not policing the resources, it's working with providers," he said.
