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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 320

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 29, 2024 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 320 - May/29/24
Mr. Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan—Woodbridge, Lib.)
  • May/29/24 10:11:06 p.m.
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To the hon. Minister of Health, earlier last week, I visited a dental care provider in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, Vellore Corners Dentistry. I met Peter, an 80-year-old senior who had proudly showed me his dental care card and, for the first time in many years, was going to his dental care provider and was very happy. Can the minister update us on the progress of enrolling seniors and oral health care providers into the CDCP?
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Hon. Mark Holland (Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • May/29/24 10:11:50 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I share my hon. colleague's excitement. Hearing about Peter getting care and about more than 120,000 seniors across the country getting the care they need has been one of the great and extraordinary privileges of my public life, to be able to talk to seniors who are getting care, in many instances for the first time in a very long time, and the pride that comes to them. I have talked earlier in the committee about the numbers, and the member in his speech mentioned that we are over 10,000. We are over 10,500 now, and the number continues to grow with that new portal opening on July 8. I have talked in the House, as well, about when I was in Vanier meeting with denturists and talking to the seniors that they are meeting. In one instance, there was a woman who had the same pair of dentures in her mouth for 41 years. All that was left were plastic plates, which she used to crush food. Hearing that denturist talk about fitting, this week, a new pair of teeth in that woman's mouth and what that is going to mean to her sense of dignity and to her health is absolutely extraordinary. Whether it is Peter or, just a few days ago, I saw Raphael getting care, this is happening, and we are going to make sure that we do the same thing for pharmacare.
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Mr. Francesco Sorbara
  • May/29/24 10:13:33 p.m.
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Madam Chair, one of the key attractions of the CDCP program, and I very much like the way we have implemented the program, is that it is using a benefits provider, Sun Life, which, as we know, is well established here in Canada, with literally tens of thousands of employees across this country. It is also now providing the flexibility, on July 8, to oral health care providers to actually direct-bill when a client comes in. I wanted to ask the minister, in terms of the way that the program is being designed and laid out, how we are seeing the full ramp-up of oral health care providers joining the system and utilizing the program for their patients, and just how critical a piece of our overall health care system the CDCP program is.
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Hon. Mark Holland
  • May/29/24 10:14:23 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I remember meeting a hygienist a couple of weeks ago, and she said that she keeps looking for all the paperwork and the administration that she was told was going to be so hard to do and that she keeps looking behind her computer or waiting for somebody to come in and tell her she is doing something wrong because it has been nothing but easy. In fact, she was saying to me that it is easier than the private insurance plans that she has been dealing with. That is a common refrain everywhere. We are hearing from providers that once they try it, they see just how easy it is. Part of the evidence is that once we get a few providers in a region, there is an explosion of providers as they talk to each other and they see just how easy this program is to work with. We almost have all denturists participating, which is fantastic, because that means that seniors are getting the dentures they need. We have a really phenomenal uptake in hygienists. Hygienists are going to play such an important role, and I would really encourage people to consider using a hygienist because often, particularly in rural or remote places or in seniors' homes, hygienists can go directly to a population in need and can be able to serve them, and then simply refer them, if there is a need for a dentist. In a lot of instances, one does not even need to see a dentist. One just needs to get one's teeth cleaned. We are going to make sure that we are there for everybody as we continue to expand this plan. I am looking forward, next month, to seeing it open up to those under 18 and to persons with disabilities.
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Mr. Francesco Sorbara
  • May/29/24 10:15:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is just so exciting. When I drive up one of the regional roads in my riding in the city of Vaughan, Weston Road, there are three billboards put out by dentists. I took pictures of them and put them up on my communications material, pointing to dentists in my riding accepting the Canadian dental care—
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The Deputy Chair
  • May/29/24 10:16:17 p.m.
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The time is up. I am going to give the hon. minister a couple of seconds to respond.
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Hon. Mark Holland
  • May/29/24 10:16:20 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am so excited as well, and we are going to see more and more of that across the country. We are going to make sure everybody gets the oral health care they need.
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Mr. Luc Berthold (Mégantic—L'Érable, CPC)
  • May/29/24 10:16:34 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with two other colleagues. My questions are for the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. After the spectacular failure of hard drug legalization in British Columbia, will the minister finally admit that this pilot project was sadly a fatal mistake?
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Hon. Ya'ara Saks (Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • May/29/24 10:16:53 p.m.
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Madam Chair, just to correct the member, decriminalization is about possession. It is not the legalization of illicit drugs.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • May/29/24 10:17:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, no matter what terms the minister uses, was this a pilot experiment that sadly turned fatal? Will she admit her mistake?
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Hon. Ya'ara Saks
  • May/29/24 10:17:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the pilot continues, I am happy to inform the member, with the amendments requested.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • May/29/24 10:17:24 p.m.
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Madam Chair, can the minister tell us how many people have died since the possession of small quantities of hard drugs was legalized?
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Hon. Ya'ara Saks
  • May/29/24 10:17:32 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the numbers for the past year were about 2,500 in the province of B.C. from the toxic drug supply.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • May/29/24 10:17:44 p.m.
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Madam Chair, is the minister aware of the City of Montreal's plans to urge the federal government to legalize simple possession of hard drugs?
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Hon. Ya'ara Saks
  • May/29/24 10:17:54 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we have received no such proposal from the City of Montreal, but we work with provincial and municipal jurisdictions.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • May/29/24 10:18:03 p.m.
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Madam Chair, does the minister plan to say yes to the request made by Montreal's city council in 2021?
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Hon. Ya'ara Saks
  • May/29/24 10:18:12 p.m.
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As I have said before, Madam Chair, we do not deal in hypotheticals. We deal in evidence, facts and actual proposals.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • May/29/24 10:18:22 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I have here the resolution adopted by Montreal's city council in which it makes this request. Is the minister aware that, in 2023, the mayor of Montreal personally reiterated her support for the legalization of hard drugs?
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Hon. Ya'ara Saks
  • May/29/24 10:18:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am sure the mayor of Montreal has made many statements, and the city council is allowed to pass whatever resolutions it wishes, but at this time there is no proposal in front of Health Canada.
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Mr. Luc Berthold
  • May/29/24 10:18:48 p.m.
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Madam Chair, does the minister intend to grant the City of Montreal's request and bring the same misery to Quebec that her Prime Minister created in British Columbia, yes or no?
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