Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press
QUEBEC CITY – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with his Quebec counterpart, François Legault, December 16 in Montreal.
This will be a second meeting for the two men in less than a month since they briefly met on the sidelines of the Francophonie Summit in Djerba, Tunisia.
Friday’s meeting should be longer this time and be used to address various topics, including the thorny issue of medical transfers.
At present, there are no plans to hold a press conference following the meeting.
We recall that Quebec, together with the other Canadian provinces, has been asking for a substantial increase in federal medical transfers for years.
The Trudeau government has said it will lift them on the condition that provinces and territories work together on a national system for sharing health data.
Mr. Legault, however, awaits a concrete offer from the federal government.
In addition to funding the health system, Mr. Legault will want to discuss the situation of the French in Montreal with Mr. Trudeau.
The irregular entry of migrants to Roxham Road was also briefly discussed in Djerba.
Since his re-election on October 3, the Premier of Quebec has made language and immigration his top priorities.
In Tunisia, François Legault said he was satisfied with the meeting with Trudeau, even going so far as to welcome the “openness” of the Prime Minister of Canada.
Mr. Legault then felt they had “set the table well” for their next one-on-one.
