Paul Tuns:

In July, both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland took aim at the New Brunswick government.

On July 22, Trudeau re-announced that the federal government would withhold Canada Health Transfer funds from the province, claiming the provincial policy of not funding private abortion facilities limits women’s access to abortion. In the 2021 federal budget, Ottawa announced it was withholding $140,216 in health transfer funding to New Brunswick because it determined that is the amount women in the province paid out-of-pocket for abortions at Clinic 554 in Fredericton. The funding penalty was also announced in 2020 but reversed when the pandemic hit. 

Trudeau alleges the provincial policy, Regulation 84-20 that prevents any public funding for Clinic 554 or any other private abortuary, violates the Canada Health Act.  During a pre-campaign stop in Moncton, Trudeau said, “Making sure that every woman across this country has access to reliable reproductive services is extremely important to us, and that’s why we’ve continued to impress strongly upon the government of New Brunswick how it needs to keep up its obligations under the Canada Health Act.”

Trudeau said his government was withholding “millions of dollars in health transfers” from New Brunswick as punishment for the long-held policy under both Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments to not fund abortions committed outside the public health system. The CBC reported that the Prime Minister “grossly exaggerated the financial penalty” imposed on the province. Afterward, the Prime Minister’s Office, through press secretary Ann-Clara Vaillancourt, corrected the dollar amount, noting that $140,216 was withheld. She said her boss “misspoke.”

On July 23, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs (PC) told reporters he found it “disappointing that (in) every election the Trudeau government wants to make (abortion) an issue.” He maintained that Regulation 84-20 was consistent with the Canada Health Act and that the Horizon Health Network in the province did not deem additional abortion services necessary in the province. Abortions are committed in three New Brunswick hospitals:  the Moncton Hospital and the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, and the Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst.

Horizon Health CEO Karen McGrath told CBC News that the demand for abortion at the Moncton hospital has declined by 20 per cent over the last five years, indicating that there is enough capacity to meet demand at this time.  “It is our position that there is no need to establish another service,” she said.

In January, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) filed a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of Regulation 84-20. In June, the Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare granted the CCLA’s request for standing to launch their lawsuit. Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s equality program director, said Regulation 84-20 is unfair because it prevents women seeking abortions from easily accessing the procedure, noting that some women must travel to a hospital outside their community or pay out-of-pocket for an abortion at Clinic 554.

The Higgs government says it will vigorously defend the policy in court.

The week before Trudeau’s stop in the province, Chrystia Freeland, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, was in Fredericton to announce that the federal government would have “more to say specifically in the coming days” about Clinic 554. But Trudeau offered no specifics during his Moncton stop.

Some pro-abortion groups were becoming impatient with the federal government. During the 2019 federal campaign, Trudeau said he would “ensure” New Brunswick funded Clinic 554.

In recent years, Clinic 554 has repeatedly threatened to close its doors if it did not receive provincial funding. As of July 30, the CBC reported, an answering service for the facility says it remains open for abortions and the insertion or removal of intrauterine devices.

On August 3, federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu was in Fredericton to announce $366,000 funding for research on abortion access in New Brunswick.  Two abortion advocates, Jula Hughes, adjunct professor of law at the University of New Brunswick, and Tobin Haley, an assistant professor of sociology at Ryerson University, will lead the research project. They will report in 18 months. CTV reported the study “will provide data for advocates to show the necessity of providing abortions at Clinic 554 in the provincial capital.” Dr. Adrian Edgar, owner of Clinic 544, was confident that the study would show the need to fund his facility.

Hajdu made the announcement alongside Liberal MP Jenica Atwin (Fredericton), who joined the party after being elected as a Green MP in 2019. The announcement was made at Clinic 554 and will focus on that facility including the cost and transportation barriers to access, as well as “stigma and discrimination.” Hajdu said the data will demonstrate the need for private abortuaries and “make it impossible for New Brunswickers and voters to ignore those stories.”

Hajdu said that Ottawa does not have the power to directly fund abortion facilities although she said it could subsidize travel and other costs to access abortion services through the 2021 budget’s $45 million earmarked for supporting the abortion industry through training materials, public awareness campaigns, and logistical support for those seeking abortion services.

The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) retweeted comments from activists and academics urging the government to stop making announcements and to directly fund private abortion facilities. They also tweeted that “research is important but do we really need more data? We know NB is in violation of the Canada Health (Act).”

Erin O’Toole responded to the Liberal government’s pressure on New Brunswick, saying on July 30, that it is a provincial matter. The Conservative leader accused Trudeau of exploiting the issue “for his own political gain and to divide Canadians.”

O’Toole declared himself “pro-choice” and insisted that abortion is “a right that needs to be maintained for people in all parts of the country, including in New Brunswick.” He said it is “fundamental” for the federal government to ensure abortion access but that “provinces run their health care systems” and it “is not what the federal government should be interfering with.”

O’Toole noted the hypocrisy of the Liberals for not supporting public funding of private health care for other procedures.  “I don’t hear Mr. Trudeau advocating for private diagnostic clinics or surgical clinics for knees and hips and things like this,”