OTTAWA A new report from a federal spending watchdog concludes the Conservative governments changes to health funding will ultimately download billions of dollars in medical costs annually to the provinces, something premiers and opposition parties say will erode public health care and provincial finances. The office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report Thursday highlighting the extent to which provincial governments will increasingly struggle to balance their books and pay for health care in the coming years, partly due to the federal Conservative governments decision to trim the growth in health transfers to the provinces. The Harper governments reforms over the past year to the Canada Health Transfer and Old Age Security, along with its ongoing savings in operating spending, mean the federal governments finances are sustainable over the long term, the report says. Continue reading →