Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders are gathered at an airport hotel for their first meeting since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were reduced to a minority government in the recent federal election.With the Trudeau government in a weakened position in the Commons and the Liberals lacking any MPs in Alberta or Saskatchewan and facing an emboldened Bloc Quebecois in Quebec, the premiers smell blood.Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who will spearhead Monday’s conference at the Hilton Airport Hotel in Mississauga, emphasized the leaders will concentrate on matters of agreement.As he arrived at the hotel, Ford told reporters that discussions would be limited to a few “key areas.” “We’re going to have a real productive meeting today. It sends a clear message to all of Canada … that we may have our differences but we’re united as a country,” the Ontario premier said at the 9:30 a.m. start of the closed-door discussion. Over the weekend, he took to the pages of the Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper, to spell out some of the premiers’ demands for action.“We must focus on the things we all agree on — job creation, infrastructure and health care. Those shared priorities also happen to be the lion’s share of what the people elected us to do,” the Ontarian wrote.“There is more common ground to be had than not. Of course, we can’t move forward without first recognizing there are parts of this country that are hurting. Our friends in the West and our friends in the East have real grievances,” he said.Ford said the premiers would be looking to Ottawa for a “renewed commitment” to health-care funding.“My fellow premiers and I have asked the federal government to increase the Canada Health Transfer by 5.2 per cent a year, so that patients can receive the care they need and deserve,” he wrote in the Star.“We need th ...
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