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CBC: A healthy deal for Manitoba?

September 13, 2017 — 

Professor Emeritus Paul Thomas, political studies, wrote the following op-ed for CBC. It was originally published on Sept. 12, 2017. 

It begins:

After a long fight over future joint funding of health care in this province, on Aug. 21, Manitoba became the last province to sign a deal with the federal government.

So, what should Manitobans make of the recent agreement? Did Pallister obtain a fair deal or did he pay a price for his alleged stubbornness? 

Both the context and the content of the deal make it difficult to provide completely objective, clear, concise answers to these questions.

Of all the many joint federal-provincial policy fields, health care is the most politically sensitive because it so personal, involving potentially life and death matters.

In announcing the deal, Canada and Manitoba had different political messages that they wanted to send. This led to the unusual situation of two news releases announcing the deal — one from Manitoba’s health minister and a second joint news release — that allowed each government to stake out their positions.

 

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