National Dental Program | Did the NDP declare victory too quickly?

(Ottawa) The NDP declared victory when the Trudeau government announced in its recent budget that it would inject $5.3 billion over the next five years to create a dental program for low-income families.

But the New Democrats’ victory cry may be premature. Because the implementation of this program does not depend solely on the goodwill of the Trudeau government. It also depends on the provinces. Right now, premiers are not in the mood to embark on this adventure. Their priority remains the same. They are calling for an unconditional increase in health transfers from the federal government. In this respect, the budget of the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, bitterly disappointed them.

The creation of this program is part of the famous agreement concluded last month by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Jagmeet Singh. This agreement ensures the survival of the minority Liberal government in the Commons until June 2025 thanks to the support of elected New Democrats during the votes of confidence on the budgets. In exchange for this support, the Liberals are committed to funding certain measures deemed priorities by the NDP.

From this year

The dental care program is to be implemented this year ($300 million) and will first apply to children under 12 years of age. It will then be extended to people under 18, seniors and people with disabilities in 2023 ($600 million). Full implementation of the program is expected in 2025 and it will be limited to families with an annual income of less than $90,000. The annual cost of the program is estimated at $1.7 billion.

According to the Department of Finance, one-third of Canadians do not have dental insurance. Worse still, more than one in five Canadians have ruled out getting dental care because of the cost, according to 2018 data.

Asked about the operation of this new program the day after the presentation of her budget, Minister Chrystia Freeland had few specific details to offer.

“It’s money we put on the table and now we have to roll up our sleeves, work closely with the provinces and territories, and determine exactly how we are going to implement this program,” said Minister Freeland, visiting Hamilton, Ontario.

Time, it will take a lot. Because two important provinces, Ontario (June) and Quebec (October), will hold elections this year. Elections that will make the government machine – and the talks between Ottawa and the provinces – run in slow motion.

Details “to be confirmed”

In the ranks of the NDP, we readily recognize that the terms of the new program have not yet been tied up. But we are adamant that everything see the light of day this year, as agreed in the agreement reached with the Liberals.

“Implementation of the program is still under discussion with the Liberals. Some details remain to be confirmed. But the NDP’s program provided for the federal government to manage an insurance program comparable to private insurance, that is to say that once the dentist had performed an intervention, he would send the bill to the federal government and he would pay,” an NDP source told The Press.

“It currently works like that in the case of several private insurers or with the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ). The federal government already offers similar services for Indigenous people and refugees,” added the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing talks.

This source indicated that Quebec would have the right to withdraw from the program and obtain financial compensation from the federal government, if it wishes, insofar as it offers comparable services to low-income families.

But the NDP’s main provincial ally, BC NDP Premier John Horgan, has been reluctant to negotiate with the federal government to create such a program.

Mr. Horgan, who holds the presidency of the Council of the Federation this year and thus speaks on behalf of all the provinces and territories, declared that the priority of his colleagues was to strengthen the health network in the country, roughly tested by the COVID-19 pandemic. And according to him, this requires an increase in transfers to the provinces.

Remember that the provinces are urging the federal government to increase transfers by some $28 billion a year in order to pay at least 35% of the cost of health services in the country, compared to 22% currently. Justin Trudeau recently pledged to increase health transfers, without however advancing an amount.

“Wouldn’t it be great to have a national dental program? Absolutely. But I believe we have to start at the beginning, which is stable funding [pour la santé] so that you can replace a patient’s hip, so that you can have a human resources strategy for basic care,” Horgan said in an interview with the CBC network broadcast on Sunday.

“And we have to address that not by launching a new national program, but by focusing on the existing national program,” he added.

Result: without the support of the provinces, the national program of dental care is likely to remain at the stage of the good intentions.