Madam Speaker, I first want to mention that I will be splitting my time with the ebullient member for La Prairie. He is a tough act to follow, so I am glad to go first.
It is with a feeling of great urgency that I rise on this Bloc Québécois opposition day. We chose to debate health transfers. As the critic for seniors, I have decided to tackle the issue from a health perspective, to make sure that we take good care of our seniors and their caregivers, who do amazing work, often unseen and unpaid.
I will represent the views of an important seniors advocacy group, the FADOQ network. It is the largest seniors' organization in Quebec and all of Canada, with 550,000 members, 705 clubs, 16 regional groups and some 17,000 volunteers. It has a long and fruitful 50-year history and it has obviously kept up with the times. More than ever, it is a critical piece of Quebec's social fabric, especially considering the province's aging population.
In a brief submitted in June 2019 ahead of the pre-budget consultations of the Standing Committee on Finance, the FADOQ network asked for an increase in health transfers. The brief notes that in 2018-19, federal health transfers were $38.5 billion, but total spending by Canada's provinces and territories and Quebec was $174.5 billion, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
Health care funding accounts for 30% of provincial and territorial budgets, but the Government of Canada funds only 22% of those expenses. Again according to the Conference Board of Canada, the current fixed growth rate will make the federal share of health care funding fall below 20% by 2026.
In order to make up for years of underfunding, the FADOQ network is asking the federal government to index the Canada health transfer by 6% annually. What is more, it notes that the impact of the aging population on public health care spending is significant. The Conference Board estimates that cost of health care for the average senior is about $12,000 a year, compared to $2,700 a year for the rest of the population. It estimates that over the next decade, this will add $93 billion to health care costs for Quebec, the provinces and the territories, a sum equivalent to 1.8% of all their total spending.
The Conference Board of Canada notes that 5.1 million people in Canada and Quebec will reach age 65 over the next 10 years. However, in its current form, the Canada health transfer does not take the aging of the population into account. The formula is based on an equal amount per capita. That is why the FADOQ network believes that the Canadian government needs to change the formula and add a variable to account for the aging population in the provinces and territories. This would allow for increases in the areas that have the greatest needs. The FADOQ network used the Conference Board report to justify its demand that the government provide assistance so the network can better care for its members. Those numbers speak for themselves.
Canada's population is aging, and the proportion of seniors in Canada and Quebec will rise from 16.9% to 21% over the next 10 years. Federal health transfers in 2017-18 covered $37 billion of the total $167 billion in public health care costs.
Today, the Canada health transfer represents approximately 22% of total public health expenditures. I will reiterate that, under the current funding formula, the provinces and territories receive federal funds on an equal per capita basis. Over the past decade the CHT increased by 6%, but, since 2017, its growth rate has been limited to 3% or the rate of economic growth, whichever is higher.
The federal government covers approximately 22% of health care costs and if those costs rise faster than the rate of economic growth, Quebec, the provinces and the territories must absorb the difference. We foresee that this scenario will materialize within the next few years. According to estimates, the CHT will increase by 3.7% per year over the next decade, while the cost of health care will increase by 5.1% per year. In other words, the federal contribution to the funding of health care will not keep pace with the growth in health care costs. If nothing is done to correct this situation, the federal portion of the health care envelope will fall below 20% by 2026.
In its press release issued yesterday after the federal economic statement, the FADOQ network strongly deplores the fact that the government again shirked its responsibilities and announced absolutely nothing for seniors in the economic update provided by the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland.