44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 17, 2022 11:00AM
Madam Speaker, there are two key statistics: 4% and $2 billion. The approximate share of current expenditures by provinces and territories on dental care is 4%. That is obviously not enough to cover the needs of almost 35% of the population in Canada that does not have access to dental insurance. Second, $2 billion is the estimated cost hospitals have to incur when people are forced to go to the emergency department because they do not have access to preventative dental care.
These costs are obviously very large and would be significantly reduced by investing in dental care for low- and medium-income families.
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Madam Speaker, one of the things that is being lost in this whole discussion about this dental program and Bill C-31 is the fact that in Ontario, for example, under Ontario's healthy smiles program, the government funds a dental program that provides free preventative, routine and emergency dental services for children and youth 17 years old and under in low-income families. That includes checkups, cleanings, fillings for cavities, X-rays, scaling and tooth extraction, and the list goes on. In fact, in my area of Simcoe County, the Simcoe County and Muskoka District health unit has a bus that visits schools to provide oral health care.
Is this really an issue of oral health for Canadian children, or is it just pure political crassness and political vote buying to offer this payment when many of these programs exist within the provinces or are covered by insurance companies?
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Madam Speaker, this is the first phase of our plan to provide dental insurance to all Canadians.
Why is the member not on board with the idea of providing universal dental insurance coverage to all Canadians, including Quebeckers?
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Madam Speaker, the member just proved that British Columbia is quite far from Quebec.
We know that Quebec instituted a dental insurance program back in the 1970s. We are leaders on this. Today, that program covers children 10 and under and people on social assistance. It can be improved. The program used to cover people 18 and under.
Do my colleagues know why we had to scale back this program? It is because of the budget cuts to health transfers, including by the Liberals in the 1990s.
Before hurling blame and telling us we are against dental insurance, my colleagues should sit down, do their homework and look at history. Perhaps then they would be less inclined to support a government that is responsible for undermining the very program they claim to want to bring in.
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Madam Speaker, we are not against dental insurance. Quebec already provides dental coverage for children.
I wonder if the member has thought about this, or does he know if anyone else has thought about how this measure will fit in with the program that already exists in Quebec. How does this not penalize Quebec? Why not simply transfer the money to Quebec?
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- Oct/17/22 2:29:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that families in Canada are struggling right now. Our budget actually includes a plan to ensure that everyone pays their fair share. Our government is very committed to asking those who prospered most during the pandemic to pay a little more, and this includes banks and insurance companies. The biggest and most profitable companies will pay a bit more to help everyone else.
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- Oct/17/22 2:54:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, because of the pandemic, the EI fund is short $26 billion, but it is not the contributors' responsibility to pay off that debt by themselves. Neither workers nor businesses are responsible for the pandemic and its fallout. The Canada Employment Insurance Commission itself is concerned about the burden the government is putting on contributors.
Will the government take on the EI debt that has accrued since March 2020 instead of passing on the full cost of the pandemic to workers and businesses?
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- Oct/17/22 2:55:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that Canadians deserve a flexible and proper employment insurance system. That is why we are working so hard to improve and modernize the EI system.
We will unveil our plan before the end of the year. I am very excited, and I think everyone will love it.
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- Oct/17/22 3:02:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I find this intervention really disappointing. We are talking here about contributions Canadians make that will come back to them. As far as the pension is concerned, it will allow Canadians to retire in dignity.
As far as worker safety and employment insurance are concerned, we know that we are living at a time of major economic instability. We have to ensure that the money will be there for workers when they need it.
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