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Context: House Hansard - 320 - May/29/24

May/29/24 9:38:57 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank the member for St. Catharines for his work and for his advocacy, in and out of public life. It is tragic when we see folks, who have not received the dental care that they need, wind up in an emergency room or wind up with an urgent health care situation that could have been avoided. Two weeks ago, I was in rural New Brunswick talking to a dentist who said, “I know exactly who does not have coverage in my community. I know that, on some given Saturday, that person is going to wind up in an emergency room, and I am going to get a call to go in and give care urgently, pro bono, away from my family, to try to fix that situation, hoping that it is not grievous for that individual.” I think that the member is talking about a situation very similar in St. Catharines. Not allowing people to have dental care is not just a matter of dignity, of somebody having a proud smile that makes them feel good about who they are and gives them confidence to be out in the world. It is fundamentally an issue of prevention. People who do not get good oral health care wind up with bad health outcomes. They cost our health system an inordinate amount of money. That is why I am so encouraged. The member asked for an update, and I gave it to the House earlier. We have seen more than 120,000 claims and over 100,000 seniors in just over three weeks. We are seeing, as of July 8, a new portal. We already have 10,500-plus oral health professionals who have signed up to this plan. I think we are going to see a real growth in that number. We have seen two million seniors signed up. Next month, we are going to be opening it up to persons under 18 and folks with disability who are currently on a disability tax credit. It would mean that, by next year, everybody, all nine million Canadians who do not have oral health care, will have coverage. One may ask why this was not done at the start of our health care system. Well, at the beginning, when we were starting so many decades ago with a national health care system in this country, it was thought that oral health was just a matter of cosmetics and that it was not essential health. Of course, science and data have evolved. We know that a myriad of diseases, illness and conditions is caused by lack of oral health. Oral health is health, and that is why it is so essential that we continue to make progress to make sure that every Canadian is covered.

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Context: House Hansard - 320 - May/29/24

May/29/24 8:41:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one thing is absolutely unacceptable and that is the fact that, for many years, people across Quebec have not had access to dental care. If the Government of Quebec wants to manage that program, I have no problem with that. That is doable, but it is absolutely essential that everyone in Quebec be able to access dental care. Why is the member opposite not working with me toward that goal? Minister Dubé had no problem with that. Why does the member have a problem with it?

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Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24

May/29/24 8:16:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is right. We are seeing a really strong take-up across the country. In fact, we are now at nearly 40% of oral health providers having signed up, and that means more than 10,500 providers who are providing service every day. We are literally seeing thousands and thousands of seniors every single day getting care. Therefore, that 120,000 figure in just over three weeks is remarkable. Before I turn it back to the member for his question, I would say that it is unfortunate. If members want to vote against it and do not want seniors to have dental care, that is their prerogative vote in this House. However, to malign the program and to actively call around and try to sabotage it and get providers to not participate is very contemptuous.

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Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24

May/23/24 3:04:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to start by commending the advocacy and work of the member for Charlottetown, who has been working tirelessly to make sure that Islanders get the coverage they need, saving them hundreds of dollars. Many times I have been out with him in Prince Edward Island over the last 10 months, talking to people about what that coverage means, not just for affordability but for prevention, to make sure they do not wind up with a chronic disease or illness. The Conservatives say that it is too much for people to hope that they can get the medicine they need. They say that it is too much to hope that somebody can get the dental care they need. A hundred thousand people got dental care in just three weeks. We are getting it done.

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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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Apr/16/24 3:09:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the truth is that those members do not want the nine million Canadians who do not have dental care to get service. They do not want Canadians who do not have access to diabetes medication to get it. They do not want women to be able to get access to universal contraception. They push despair because they do not want people to hope for something better. We are there to deliver something better.

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Apr/16/24 3:07:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is great news, because, unlike the member opposite, we are working with dental providers and we are opening up a new portal, which means that in order to participate all they have to do is accept that dental card and provide service. The dentists who I am talking to, as we work through these issues in the negotiation, are extremely excited to do what the member is not, which is to make sure that every Canadian from coast to coast to coast gets oral health care. That means that 1.8 million seniors and soon nine million Canadians will have the oral health care they need.

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Apr/16/24 11:17:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member and my friend for an important question. I have been so encouraged by the conversations that I am having with every provincial health minister across the country, regardless of their stripe. Whether I am talking to Everett Hindley in Saskatchewan or Uzoma in Manitoba, the conversations have been incredibly productive and positive. They are focused on how we get people the care they need. I would challenge the Conservative opposition. They talk about wanting to destroy dental, how they do not want pharmacare and how they are going to block the national food program. They tell people not to dream about it and that they cannot have it. They tell people not to dream that they can get medication. They say not to dream that they can have dental care. The Conservatives are going to make sure it does not work. They are going to call dentists and scare them. They are going to give them false information. They are going to work against people getting care, for political reasons. I think we should listen very carefully to what the Conservatives say. Are they asking questions about how they can help or how they can ensure that people get dental care? Are they asking questions about the problems that dentists have and how we can help fix them because they want to make sure people get dental care? No, they are saying to give up and have despair, and that they cannot do it. Shame on them for it.

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Context: House Hansard - 297 - Apr/10/24

Apr/16/24 11:10:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it was true in the 1960s and it is true now, that there are purveyors of doom. There are those who try to push people to despair. When one does not believe in a public health care system, what does one want people to do? One wants people to despair, because nothing comes from despair. All change comes from looking at what is hard and true and driving for change. Let us talk very specifically. Every health care system in the world is facing extraordinary backlogs as a result of COVID and stress on their system. It is a question how we meet that. These 13 agreements and these investments of $200 billion are demonstrating that we are meeting that challenge. In these plans, in articulated detail, is exactly how we are going to get to the health system Canadians deserve. With respect to dental care, we have thousands and thousands of dentists who have signed up across the country. Secondly, just on Thursday, I met with the dental associations, and I can tell the House that we are down to a couple of minor issues and that I am extraordinarily confident that over the next number of months, we will see virtually every dental office in the country participating in this program.

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Context: House Hansard - 296 - Apr/9/24

Apr/10/24 2:44:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely essential for everyone across the country, including Quebeckers, to be able to receive oral and dental care. That is our goal and that is what we are going to do. I will definitely continue to work with the Government of Quebec in a spirit of co-operation. It is only the Bloc Québécois that is looking for problems and picking fights. Our government is looking for solutions that ensure that everyone can get the health care they need.

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Context: House Hansard - 288 - Feb/29/24

Apr/9/24 2:51:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is exactly right. When parties work together and focus on solutions, we get things done. That means making sure that millions of Canadians who do not have access to oral health care are going to get dental care. There are 1.7 million seniors who have signed up. We have seen hundreds of thousands of dental providers across the country sign up. We are creating a new portal to make sure that it is even easier for dentists to participate. By working together, both as parliamentarians and as Canadians, we can get through difficult times by making things better together.

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Context: House Hansard - 288 - Feb/29/24

Feb/29/24 2:49:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, access to medication for diabetes is not just a question of social justice, it is a question of saving lives. It is a question of prevention. It is a question of reducing costs enormously across the country. Specifically with Alberta, I have had very constructive conversations with Adriana LaGrange, who has been willing to work, compromise and find that common ground. Unfortunately, across the aisle, that is not what we see. Today, the leader of the official opposition, the Conservatives, ran away when asked if he would support diabetes medication. He refused to answer whether he would slash contraceptives for women. The Conservatives are already against dental. I would really like to know where they stand on pharmacare.

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Context: House Hansard - 286 - Feb/27/24

Feb/29/24 2:45:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the representations made by the member are inaccurate, and I would invite people to read the documents, which have been fully redacted. However, this is the contrast with a party that is focused on partisanship and differences. The member opposite talked about working with another party and what that might accomplish. What about dental care? When we focused on co-operation, we were able to get dental care for this country. We were able to make sure that nine million Canadians, including three million seniors, will have access to dental care. They are voting against that. They are against that. Are they against pharmacare? Are they against the other fruits of co-operation that come from— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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Context: House Hansard - 285 - Feb/26/24

Feb/27/24 2:30:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the Bloc Québécois is obviously trying to pick fights. It is always picking fights. Our intention is simply to improve the quality of health care for Canadians across the country. In Quebec, for example, it is absolutely essential that every Quebecker everywhere in the province be able to receive dental care. That is our goal, and we intend to achieve it in a spirit of co-operation, not by squabbling.

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Context: House Hansard - 273 - Feb/1/24

Feb/26/24 2:28:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is clearly trying to pick a fight. We are seeking solutions. That is why we are having good conversations with Minister Dubé and the Government of Quebec about improving the quality of health care. It is essential that all Quebeckers have access to dental care and a good health care system. That can be achieved through co-operation, not through bickering or this sort of debate.

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Context: House Hansard - 268 - Dec/14/23

Feb/1/24 3:10:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Kitchener—Conestoga for his advocacy to make sure that oral health is available for all Canadians. It is now available for those who are 72 years of age and older, and it is going to be rolling out to nine million Canadians. That is 3.5 million seniors and more than a million kids under 18. It is deeply disappointing that the Conservatives are voting against this and looking to get rid of dental care. It is essential not only as preventive medicine but also for the dignity of seniors who are finally being able to replace their dentures and get the oral health care they need.

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Context: House Hansard - 268 - Dec/14/23

Dec/14/23 2:46:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, we know that the Conservatives voted against farmers. They voted against taking action on climate change. They also voted against dental care. That means nine million people who they do not want to have access to dental care. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of seniors who they are saying are not going to be able to get dentures replaced if they were in government. They are talking about more than a million kids who they would say no to, that those kids cannot get critical dental care because they want to vote against it. Their real agenda is cuts. When one looks through their slogans, that is all that is there.

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Context: House Hansard - 268 - Dec/14/23

Dec/14/23 2:30:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course we are going to work with Quebec. We are going to work with each province and territory to ensure that everyone gets the dental care they need to stay healthy. That is our goal, and we are going to work with every province across the country to achieve it.

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Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23

Dec/14/23 2:28:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our choice is clear. Our choice is to provide dental care for everyone everywhere in Canada, in every province and in every territory. We have nine million people without access to dental care. Our dental care system will give every person in every part of our country access to dental care. That is the important thing here.

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