![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1790887691_436_indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cTo see any reduction in targeted funding would be problematic and concerning when we know there\u2019s still significant need in our community, even with the current level of funding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Cooper said there is a \u201cfairly strong consensus\u201d among different levels of government and advocacy organizations that dedicated funding is needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s included within a broader sort of Canada Health Transfer, our concern is that those resources often don\u2019t necessarily get directed to mental health or to community-based services,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
The health ministers say the end of dedicated funding agreements amounts to a \u201cfiscal cliff\u201d that will have a real impact on patients, and warn there could be job losses in the health sector.<\/p>\n
The federal government pledged a total of $200 billion in additional health funding over 10 years in the 2023 budget.<\/p>\n
It was intended to help expand access to primary care, reduce surgery backlogs, improve mental health and addiction services and modernize the health system, following widespread issues in health care across the country during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Part of that sum \u2014 $4.8 billion \u2014 was set aside over four years for improvements to home care, community care and mental health and addiction services. That funding is set to end in March 2027.<\/p>\n
Another $3 billion in funding meant to improve long-term care safety was set to sunset in 2026, and $1.7 billion for personal support workers wages will be paid out by 2028.<\/p>\n
Provinces and territories also have raised concerns about the future of the Canada Health Transfer, which is guaranteed to grow each year by five per cent until 2028. The federal budget states that the transfer will grow by a minimum of three per cent per year after that date. Premiers say the five per cent floor must be maintained.<\/p>\n
The health ministers said federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Finance Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne declined to take part in this week\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n
Michel has said since taking office last year that mental health is one of her top three priorities as minister.<\/p>\n
She is set to meet with her provincial and territorial counterparts later this month in Winnipeg, and a spokesperson for her office said she intends to approach that meeting collaboratively.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important to note that many government programs and funding commitments are agreed upon for specified periods of time, allowing for the government to periodically review or evaluate their effectiveness before deciding to renew or make changes,\u201d said Alexandre Bergeron, Michel\u2019s spokesperson, in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n
Champagne is set to release the Liberals\u2019 latest fiscal plan later this fall.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cTo see any reduction in targeted funding would be problematic and concerning when we know there\u2019s still significant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":917003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[879,49,48,2467,2461,2468,2460,2462,2463,44,2464,20739,2465,2466,82],"class_list":["post-917002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-breaking-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-central-vancouver-island","tag-nanaimo","tag-nanaimo-breaking-news","tag-nanaimo-news","tag-nanaimo-news-now","tag-nanaimonewsnow","tag-news","tag-oceanside","tag-ottawa","tag-parksville","tag-qualicum","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=917002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/917003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=917002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=917002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=917002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}