The Canada Health Act Annual Report was tabled last week by Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, and New Brunswick received its full transfer despite refusing to fund private abortion clinic 554.
While provinces have full jurisdiction to regulate and fund health care, the federal government gives them financial assistance if they meet the criteria laid out in the Canada Health Act. Pro-abortion activists insist that this means funding abortion in every case, but New Brunswick has chosen to only fund abortions performed in hospitals. This is completely within their right as a province, and it is good to see the federal government’s full financial assistance acting as tacit approval of their decision.
We will need to continue to remind the government of this, however, as Minister Hajdu devoted a portion of her report to discussing abortion, specifically mentioning the New Brunswick situation. She states that “Health Canada continues to consult with the health ministries of New Brunswick and Ontario on this issue.”
New Brunswick can and should push back against any meddling in their health care decisions. With limited resources, the question should always be asked: why should they fund private abortion instead of other legitimate health care needs, such as dentistry and mental health needs, which are also not currently covered?
As we said in our recent Position Paper on the topic of Canada Health Act funding, “Abortion, an elective procedure, should not be prioritized as something to be funded in every situation or at every gestational age. Private abortion clinics should not be a funding priority or requirement.”