Trudeau pushes back after premiers accuse him of encroaching on their territory

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing back against the claim that his government is infringing on provincial and territorial jurisdiction after the premiers repeatedly attacked his program spending during their annual summer meeting this week.

Canada's 13 premiers spent nearly three days in Halifax discussing shared priorities and challenges.

While the premiers didn't agree on all topics — including the thorny issue of equalization payments — they appeared shoulder to shoulder to attack what they see as Ottawa's habit of intervening in areas of provincial responsibility ranging from dental care to the cod fishery.

As the meetings wrapped up Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford took aim at the federal government's billion-dollar national school food program, which promises to deliver meals to an additional 400,000 children per year.

He said his province's program feeds more kids, for less.

«Something's broken. They're wasting taxpayers money,» he said during the premiers' closing news conference.

«You know what happens? The premiers get pissed, simple as that. They just jump in there and they think they know better than what we know.»

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, the chair of this year's conference, said Ottawa's approach to the federation «risks pitting provinces and territories, really Canadians, against one another.»

In a letter sent to both Houston and Ford on Wednesday, Trudeau said the federal government is merely trying to «use federal funding to improve the lives of Canadians, not to infringe on provincial and territorial jurisdiction.»

«I would encourage provinces and territories who are reluctant to sign on to these initiatives or taking obstructionist positions to consider the impact that their decisions have on