• Quebec's new PQ premier unveils smaller cabinet as minority government prepares to govern

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-10-21 16:45:26.0
  Tags: [Quebec, Governance, Education, Healthcare, Finance, Justice]

  Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has unveiled a new minority government cabinet consisting of 23 ministers, down from the previous Coalition Avenir Québec government's 29. Notable appointments include Nicolas Marceau as finance minister, Marie-Karlynn Laflamme as health minister, Joël Arseneau as national education minister, Marie-Claude Sarrazin as justice minister, and Pascal Bérubé as culture minister. The swearing-in ceremony marked a historic departure by taking place without the lieutenant-governor presiding in person at St-Pierre Plamondon's request.

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• What to know about Quebec's new cabinet ahead of swearing-in ceremony

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-10-21 10:40:12.0
  Tags: [Quebec, Governance, Healthcare, Education, Finance, Immigration]

  Premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's minority Parti Québécois government, holding 59 out of 127 seats, is unveiling a 22-minister cabinet during a swearing-in ceremony at the National Assembly. Key appointments include Marie-Karlynn Laflamme as Minister of Health, Prevention and Seniors tasked with abolishing Santé Québec, Joël Arseneau as Minister of Education, Nicolas Marceau as Minister of Finance, and Catherine Gentilcore as Immigration Minister. Other key portfolios include Alain Therrien as Treasury Board President, Stéphane Paquet for Economy and Energy, Nicolas Girard for Transportation and Sustainable Mobility, Guy Lapointe Jr. for Internal Security, Marie-Claude Sarrazin as Justice Minister, and Anne Nguyen for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs. Additionally, the ceremony faces a historic constitutional challenge as the lieutenant-governor will not preside over it following a provincial law that abolished the requirement to pledge allegiance to the King.

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• Ontario Clarifies Longstanding Out-of-Country Drug Funding Process

  Source: Ontario - Ministry of Health
  Date: 2026-10-06 21:00:00.0
  Tags: [Ontario, Healthcare, Affordability, Governance, Finance]

  The Government of Ontario has amended Regulation 552 of the Health Insurance Act to align with its longstanding out-of-country drug funding policy, restricting out-of-country funding to treatments where the drug and administration are publicly funded in Ontario, temporarily unavailable locally, and necessary to prevent death or irreversible tissue damage. According to the Ministry of Health led by Minister Sylvia Jones, the regulatory clarification aims to prevent global pharmaceutical companies from bypassing direct price negotiations with the province and avoids potential health-care system cost increases of up to $5.2 billion annually alongside $170 million in out-of-country treatment requests. This follows a recent Ontario Divisional Court decision concerning out-of-country drug funding, which the government is evaluating alongside options such as an appeal or a negotiated resolution with the applicant.

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• Alberta advances $2.4 million for gambling addiction treatment

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-24 19:05:11.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Healthcare, Social Services, Finance, Governance]

  The Government of Alberta has advanced a $2.4 million grant to the Brick House Recovery Centre, which operates facilities in Edmonton and Calgary and provides virtual support across the province, to enhance treatment and recovery programs for problem gamblers. Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally stated that this funding serves as an advance ahead of revenues collected from the province's newly regulated iGaming market, which launched in mid-July. The province allocates one percent of its regulated iGaming revenues—projected at $76 million for its first year across 31 approved sites—toward addiction treatment, with the 1 percent threshold subject to future reviews as the market grows.

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• N.S. premier invites the public to build and submit their own provincial budgets

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-11 17:17:45.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Finance, Governance, Healthcare]

  Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and Public Service Commission Minister Twila Grosse launched a new public budget consultation process allowing Nova Scotians to build and submit their own provincial budget versions via a dedicated website. The interactive tool prohibits users from raising taxes and fees, increasing the deficit, or cutting funding from the Health and Wellness Department, but permits a five per cent increase or decrease to all other departmental budgets and individual program funding. Provincial officials will host online and in-person public meetings across Nova Scotia, after which an independent committee will review submissions and present a report to the finance minister for consideration in the next fiscal plan.

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• Critics question $31M in extra spending for P.E.I. health care

  Source: Prince Edward Island - Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-01 22:15:46.0
  Tags: [Prince Edward Island, Healthcare, Governance, Labour, Finance]

  The Prince Edward Island government approved nearly $31 million in extra spending for Health P.E.I. through a cabinet special warrant without a legislative debate, drawing criticism from opposition parties over transparency. The funding breakdown includes $12.9 million for hospital overcapacity, overtime, and travel nurses, $12.25 million for collective bargaining wage increases, and $5.76 million for medical supplies, out-of-province care, and increased MRI services. Opposition health critics Gordon McNeilly (Liberal) and Tayte Willows (Green) are demanding a comprehensive long-term health care plan and a full financial breakdown from Health and Wellness Minister Cory Deagle.

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