CanadaB次元官网网址檚 premiers on Tuesday lamented what they said was the federal governmentB次元官网网址檚 lack of teamwork on important files from housing to school lunch programs, with British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 premier saying working with Ottawa can feel like B次元官网网址渂eating our head against a wall.B次元官网网址�

Premiers of the ten provinces and three territories are in Halifax for three days this week for the summer meeting of the Council of the Federation, hosted by Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston.

On Tuesday, B.C. Premier David Eby told reporters that for years at these federation get-togethers, he and his counterparts have asked for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

B次元官网网址淭hat call continues to go unanswered and I cannot understand why, because we have a lot of work to do together,B次元官网网址� Eby said.

Houston echoed similar sentiments in a letter sent to Trudeau ahead of the conference, asking the prime minister to B次元官网网址渨ork with us in a true partnershipB次元官网网址� in order to revive the B次元官网网址渃ollaborative spirit of the federation.B次元官网网址�

The premier told reporters Tuesday that provinces and territories are closely attuned to their residentsB次元官网网址� needs, and they want to work more closely with Ottawa in order to tackle major issues.

B次元官网网址淎s provinces and territories, we have some things that are in our wheelhouse, that are our jurisdiction. We know a lot about them, we know what we need. And we have ideas about how to approach them,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淪o what weB次元官网网址檝e asked for from Ottawa is to partner with us on those things and work with us, and not try to go around us B次元官网网址� as may be the case sometimes, as we see on some of the housing stuff thatB次元官网网址檚 happening now.B次元官网网址�

One federal program that gets heat from provinces is OttawaB次元官网网址檚 Housing Accelerator Fund, which distributes money for housing directly to cities and municipalities, bypassing provincial governments.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has been highly critical of the accelerator fund, said Tuesday that a lack of collaboration has resulted in the duplication of other programs like dental care, pharmacare and the school lunch program.

Doubling up on these services means B次元官网网址測ouB次元官网网址檙e paying for twice as many civil servants to deliver the program, which means youB次元官网网址檙e not getting the dollars down to the people who need them,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淲hat weB次元官网网址檝e advocated is B次元官网网址� work with us. If you want to get involved in assisting us in cost-sharing, then use our architecture and provide funding so that we can expand the programs.B次元官网网址�

Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, acknowledged that thereB次元官网网址檚 a general sense of exasperation among his peers when it comes to working with Ottawa. B次元官网网址淎ll the premiers together, I think that weB次元官网网址檙e pretty frustrated in that area, but we want to work with the federal government,B次元官网网址� Ford told reporters Tuesday.

Eby said he thinks progress could be made if the prime minister were to meet with premiers and make a plan for working together.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not about money. ItB次元官网网址檚 not about additional funding, itB次元官网网址檚 about, can we co-ordinate nationally on these areas of shared interest?

B次元官网网址淎nd that is where it sometimes feels like weB次元官网网址檙e just beating our head against a wall,B次元官网网址� Eby said.

The Office of the Prime Minister was not immediately available for comment.

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