The Premier says it’s time to come up with a different model of funding health care in Canada.

Transfers from Ottawa are based on population, but Tony Wakeham says that model no longer works as Newfoundland and Labrador is very large geographically but with a small population. Yet, it still has to provide health care to all.

He says the federal government used to fund 35 per cent of the cost of health care but that has gone down to 18 per cent.

Current agreements between the provinces and Ottawa expire next year.

He says they have agreed to convene a meeting of health and finance ministers to discuss the funding situation.

“We are the size of the three Maritime Provinces combined,” says Premier Wakeham. “Simply basing it on a per capita basis for health care delivery…we have to look at that and see if can change it.”