Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: Senator Yussuff, would you take a question?

Senator Yussuff: With honour.

Senator Woo: Thank you so much for your third reading speech and especially for sharing that personal story on the importance and necessity of the Canada dental benefit.

The $1 billion or so that will be spent will indeed benefit hundreds of thousands of children. The money, of course, is going to address dental decay, and there is no money set aside for preventative dental care. It is not part of this bill, and I’m not about to move an amendment to include prevention, but can you talk a bit about the thinking for the longer-term plan, the more permanent dental care plan, and whether that might include something as basic and beneficial as fluoridation of our water? In this country, about 60% of Canadians don’t have access to fluoridated water, including in my home city of Vancouver. In the United States, it is the opposite, only 40% of Americans do not have access to fluoridated water.

I wonder if it is possible for the federal government, in its longer-term plan, to think about a way of incentivizing municipalities to invest in fluoridation because fluoridation is as much a health investment as it is an infrastructure investment.

Senator Yussuff: Thank you, Senator Woo. I think you raised a very important point for us all to consider.

As you know, the science on fluoridation is well known. It has been documented to be extremely important in dealing with cavities and the challenges in keeping our teeth in healthy order. We live in a federation. As I keep saying constantly, it is unique in the world. We love each other very well, but we don’t do the same things throughout this land. I’m hoping that at the end of the day, as the government develops a national program, working with the provinces and territories and Indigenous organizations, this will be a serious consideration, because the responsibility of provinces to make this mandatory in their jurisdictions remains with them and them alone. The federal government cannot impose, but it can incentivize the provinces to make this a reality. Equally, I think the education that our citizens need to understand about fluoridation is important for us to put in front of them.

There are still those who argue fluoridation should not be a regular feature of our water system. The evidence is quite clear. I do hope as we debate a national program, with the federal government working with the provinces and territories, this will become part of the debate that certainly can make this country a better place for us, to keep tooth decay at bay and helping young children to have a brighter future.