NDP calls for a federal dental plan for Canadians

OTTAWA – Today, NDP MP Jack Harris (St. John’s East) tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling on the Liberal government to establish a federal dental care plan for Canadian families earning less than $90,000 per year. This would be an interim measure toward the inclusion of full dental care in Canada’s health care system. Good dental health can impact a person’s entire well-being – but Justin Trudeau has refused to consider moving forward a national dental care plan.

“No one should have to deal with agonizing dental pain or put their health at risk because they can’t afford to go to the dentist,” said Harris. “Yet millions of Canadians do not have access to adequate dental care. Often it is young people, low-wage and precarious workers, and seniors who have little to no insurance coverage – and no way to get the care they need.”

According to a Parliamentary Budget Office report released in October 2020, nearly 6.5 million Canadians would benefit from our program, a number that continues to grow as people lose their jobs and dental insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know that many Canadians keep putting off the care of their teeth just because they can’t afford going to the dentist. It shouldn’t be this way,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “More and more Canadians are being left behind by the Liberal government’s failure to act on dental care. I am proud that New Democrats are leading the way in making dental care an integral part of Canada’s health care system so that people don’t have to keep delaying the care they need.”