Quebec turns around and authorizes use of the federal dental care program in its public establishments, such as CHSLDs and community clinics, during its negotiations with Ottawa.
The Quebec Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, indicated Thursday morning that the decision was taken “to allow all dentists [autonomes et salariés] to offer coverage, to ensure equal access to all patients.”
This change of course comes the day after the leader of the New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh, and his lieutenant from Quebec, Alexandre Boulerice, walked out against the directive of the Legault government.
Mr. Boulerice called the CAQ government “heartless” on Wednesday with its directive preventing “people who are among the most vulnerable and most deprived” from having access to the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
The Press revealed last week that children, seniors and people with disabilities were deprived of the federal program due to Quebec’s directive. The latter maintains that Ottawa is encroaching on one of its areas of jurisdiction.
The Quebec government is still in discussions with the federal government regarding its right to withdraw with full compensation from the program.
“We ensure that it is not the patients who pay the price during the negotiations. Our priority is to improve access, not the opposite,” mentioned Minister Dubé on the social network X.
He reiterated that health is a provincial jurisdiction and that his government will continue “to demand the necessary investments from the federal government to improve” existing services.
Mr. Singh, for his part, welcomed Quebec’s decline. “This is a victory for the elderly,” he declared in a press scrum at the federal parliament on Thursday.
“It’s a good decision. “It’s a good thing to do because it will ensure that the most vulnerable people can have access to this really important program,” added the NDP leader.
Since 1er May, any uninsured person with a net household income of less than $90,000 is eligible for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. It is currently only offered to seniors, children and people with disabilities. Universal eligibility is expected in 2025.
During question period in the House of Commons, the Quebec lieutenant for the federal Liberals, Jean-Yves Duclos, indicated that “there are 800,000 Quebec seniors who now have a card [du] Canadian Dental Care Plan.”
And there are also 250,000 people “who for the first time in several years, sometimes, were able to have access to accessible and affordable dental care,” argued the minister.