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The money is considered to be a "floor amount" from which to build a multi-year agreement.
"It's better than two weeks ago," he added, when there wasn't so much as a nail, much less a floor to work from.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien pulled out the bankroll after a Thursday morning meeting at 24 Sussex Dr.
Chretien met with Okalik and Yukon premier Dennis Fentie and NWT Premier Stephen Kakfwi, and Northern MPs.
Each territory's share is $20 million and is on top of the per capita amount they will receive under the recently signed health accord.
Talk loudly
Constant pressure by Northern premiers -- helped by Opposition questions and media reports -- was put on Chretien's government from the beginning of talks, Feb. 3, that led to the accord.
"We have to explain our position clearly, but sometimes we have to talk loudly (to get the point across)," Okalik said.
Having the face-to-face with the prime minister was important.
"We sought a meeting so we could move forward on this. We found a resolution that is acceptable to all parties," Okalik said.
"The meeting was congenial and very constructive," said Nunavut Liberal MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell. "The premiers are able to walk away with a plan for the short term."
The new cash will go toward immediate health needs.
"This will help sustain personal health-care costs. We're not even talking about capital costs," Karetak-Lindell said of money needed for buildings or equipment.
In the meantime, federal Health Minister Anne McLellan will be packing her bags for a trip North some time in March to see for herself what the situation is.
The final details of the new agreement -- especially if a similar amount of money will be forthcoming for two subsequent years of the accord -- will be hammered out by the end of March.
"We'll have the details before our fiscal year-end on April 1," Okalik said.
