Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
Canada's premiers presented a united front Friday as they demanded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau come to the table personally to hammer out an agreement for Ottawa to shoulder more of the burden when it comes to health-care costs.
Premiers also defended their refusal to accept conditions for additional federal funds, and pushed back on any suggestion of throwing their own money into the pot even though some provinces are posting budget surpluses.
The provincial and territorial leaders issued their call for a sit-down with Trudeau after a closed-door meeting in Winnipeg, one month after talks with the federal government on health-care funding ended without an agreement.
Led by Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, the premiers reiterated their desire to see Ottawa cover 35 per cent of health-care costs across the country, up from the current 22 per cent, by increasing the Canada Health Transfer.
Provincial health ministers presented the same demand to federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos in Vancouver last month. But those talks ended without a deal, with Duclos saying provinces did not want to accept any conditions for the money.
Stefanson said it is time for the prime minister to negotiate an agreement in January.
"What we're calling for today is just a meeting to sit down with the prime minister to have the discussion about fair and sustainable funding for the future of health care in our country," Stefanson said at a news conference.
During a separate news conference on Parliament Hill, Duclos reiterated the federal government's willingness to work with provinces and territories on a long-term deal. However, he would not say if Trudeau would meet the premiers.
"The prime minister will obviously do what he wants to do," Duclos said.
"What he has asked me to do is to work with my colleagues, health ministers. … Now we need premiers to let us do our job and express publicly the type of outcomes and results that we need to achieve together."
The impasse comes as many health-care facilities, particularly children's hospitals, are struggling with a shortage of staff and overwhelming demand as a result of a combination of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory infections.
It also comes as some provinces are facing rosier fiscal situations than expected, with a number projecting budget surpluses. That has prompted some, such as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, to question their demands.
The CCPA in a report last month projected that British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick would have budget surpluses now and into the coming years that would help address some of the system's current problems.
Stefanson and others defended their position and accused Ottawa of unfairly dumping its obligations onto the provinces and territories at the expense of other priorities such as education and other services.
"What we see in these forecasts is that in the long term, the federal government will end up with surpluses and the provinces will increase their deficits because of the growing rate of increase for health care," said Quebec Premier Francois Legault.
Duclos said Friday that the federal government has been clear it is ready to contribute more to health care, but that Ottawa wants to know what results will be achieved with the additional funds before they are doled out.
"We first need to agree on the outcomes and the results we need to achieve together," he said. "So let's speak about the ends Γüá-- what we want to do Γüá-- and then assess the dollars needed from everyone, including the federal government, to achieve those results."
However, premiers have interpreted such talk as an attempt to dictate how money will be spent.
"Transparency and accountability, we have no problem with that," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said. "But we need the flexibility. First of all, we need the funding, and then we need the flexibility to be able to move those funds around where they're needed."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2022.
A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the topic of the premiers' meeting.
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.