44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 6, 2024 11:00AM
- May/6/24 1:01:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech, though I do not agree with much of it. I have a very specific question for him.
We in the NDP worked hard to get a new dental care program in place so that the most disadvantaged people and seniors could access dental care practically for free, starting this year.
As of last week, we have already started to see people going to the dentist and having their bill paid in full, or 90% of it. That will be a game-changer for the millions of Canadians and Quebeckers who are suffering terribly because they have not able to go to the dentist for years.
Will my colleague's party commit to maintaining the dental care program for the middle class and the most disadvantaged if it wins the next election?
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- May/6/24 1:18:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his fiery and passionate speech. I want to talk about more than just motions, institutions and parliaments. I want to talk about Quebeckers. Some four million Quebeckers have no dental coverage, whether private or public.
People voted for us, the NDP, to come to Ottawa and fight to give people access to a dentist, and we did. We used our balance of power and we delivered.
What does my colleague have to say to the seniors and people with disabilities in his riding who will benefit from having 80% or 90% of their dental care paid for?
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- May/6/24 1:48:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the NDP has been championing public, affordable, accessible child care for decades. While I agree that there are not enough spots being created, I have seen more created in the last six years than I ever saw created under any Conservative government. That is for sure.
I do not really understand the premise of my hon. colleague's last question when she said that dental care does not exist. I read stories over the weekend and saw pictures of seniors who had been to the dentist and were showing copies of their bills that were paid for by the Canada dental care program. I do not know what she means about dentists not signing up. The last I heard was that 6,500 dentists across this country have signed up and, frankly, there is no more requirement to sign up for the program. Dentists can just automatically enrol in the program by billing their first customer.
The NDP fought for nine million Canadians, during this Parliament, to be able to go to the dentist for the first time. To us, dental care is primary health care. Every Canadian should have the right to get their oral health needs met, regardless of their ability to pay. At the end of this Parliament, we will be able to go to Canadians on their doorsteps and tell them how the NDP helped to get dental care for nine million Canadians. I am going to tell them that the Conservatives voted against dental care, that they thought it was a bad idea and that they will take it away from them. That is not illusory.
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- May/6/24 3:01:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over 1.9 million seniors 65 and older have successfully applied for the Canadian dental care plan. The Conservatives chose to vote against funding toward the CDCP. However, the numbers speak for themselves and have demonstrated Canadians' overwhelming support for this program.
Could the minister please update the House on the impacts of the work being done to provide access to dental care for Canadians?
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- May/6/24 3:36:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his work on this legislation. Specifically, I want to take an opportunity to thank the member for Vancouver Kingsway for his work as well.
Canadians expect parliamentarians to work together to get results, to get the services and the care that they need. It is fine that the Conservatives are going to vote against dental care or vote against pharmacare, which means they are voting against medication for diabetes and against women getting access to the contraceptives they need. It is bad enough that they would vote against it, but to block it actively, to block the elected will of the House to be able to get care to people, is extremely disturbing.
I will talk about dental care. It was really revealing to talk to dentists across the country who had been filled with misinformation, and who were shocked by how easy it is to use the dental care plan. The reason that confusion, in many cases, exists is because of the confusion deliberately being pumped into it.
Again, I would say this to the Conservatives: It is fine that they do not want people to get diabetes medication, they do not want seniors to get dental care and they do not want people to be able to get access to the contraceptives that they need. That is one thing, but they should allow the House to do its work, allow us to move the legislation forward and allow us to make sure that those people who need care get care.
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- May/6/24 5:59:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member talked about a lack of consultation around the dental care program. How much consultation did he do?
Do members know what I did when the program was released? I wanted to make sure dentists in my riding knew about it. I wrote all of them a letter. My team followed up with them. We encouraged them to get involved. I visited a number of dentists. As a result, 41 dentists in my riding, which is more than half of them, are on the dental care program.
How much consultation on the dental care program did the member do in his riding, or did he not care enough about his constituents to bother making sure that they knew they had access to the new service, regardless of which political party brought it?
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- May/6/24 6:00:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member said he had 40 dentists sign up. Based on the numbers that I provided, 65 dentists in all of Ontario have signed up. It sounds like, in the Kingston area, most of the dentists have signed up for it. They are the only ones; it is interesting. The member should look at the number of dentists in Ontario. It is significantly more than 65.
To answer his question, I did consult with my colleagues in my riding, because I do happen to be their colleague. I spent many years as a professional dealing with dentists. They are all asking whether the government is stepping forward to make socialized dental care in Canada so that all dentists would have to be mandated to apply and get paid what the government says.
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- May/6/24 6:02:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I apologize if I missed something in the translation, but I did not recognize an actual question in the statement by the member.
I think, ultimately, as the member has indicated, that we need to remember the fact that health care is a provincial issue. Dental care is health care, and it is a provincial responsibility to deal with it. The provinces determine who the professionals will be and how they will be regulated. That is up to the professional bodies, whether it is for the dentists, the chiropractors, the physical therapists, the doctors or the dental hygienists. The plans are determined by the provinces, as Quebec has done. We need to recognize that and continue to focus on the fact that it is the provinces' responsibility to make those decisions; it is not for the federal government to invade and intrude in that area.
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- May/6/24 6:17:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was struck by the member's comments about someone needing to go for a colonoscopy and not being able to afford the prep. I have heard this in my riding as well. I have heard it in regards to dental care also, that they are not being able to pay the $5 or $10 to go to dental care.
I would just ask the member if he could share how important it is that people have basic access to medication to stay proactively healthy.
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