Conservative Home Chief Andrew Scheer gained’t say whether or not his celebration will reduce or totally scrap Canada’s federal dental care program, regardless of new information exhibiting practically 650,000 Canadians have used the plan.
A nationwide dental care program was one of many keystones of the now-ended supply-and-confidence settlement between the Liberals and NDP, inked in 2022. It includes plans to roll out protection particularly for kids, seniors, and low-income Canadians, and with remaining eligible Canadians slated to achieve entry in 2025.
Federal NDP Chief Jagmeet Singh introduced final week he’d formally ended the pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal celebration, 10 months earlier than it was set to run out. Absent that settlement, the potential of a common election earlier than the set date in October 2025 is extra possible.
When requested by CTV’s Query Interval host Vassy Kapelos whether or not the Conservatives would roll again dental care in the event that they type authorities, Scheer wouldn’t say.
“To begin with, the NDP by no means wish to discuss authorities greed and authorities waste, and after we discuss fixing the price range in order that inflation and rates of interest can come down, that is what we’re specializing in,” he stated in an interview airing Sunday.
Scheer additionally pointed to and characterised particular authorities spending, together with the infrastructure financial institution and consulting charges, as inflationary, accusing the Liberals of “waste and corruption.”
“However once more, it is all about how inflation takes an enormous chunk out of employees’ paychques, and that these packages aren’t as marketed, that we’re listening to from individuals all throughout the nation saying that they don’t seem to be qualifying for these packages, that the dentists aren’t adopting in,” Scheer stated.
The dental care program confronted early criticism from dentists for what they stated was an administrative burden, together with confusion over its reimbursement mannequin. Regardless of that, the federal authorities introduced this month that greater than 2.4 million Canadians have been accredited for protection, and that greater than 82 per cent of dental care suppliers at the moment are collaborating in this system.
When pressed by Kapelos on the statistic that almost 650,000 Canadians have already accessed care, Scheer once more wouldn’t straight say whether or not his celebration would scrap this system, if elected.
“We have seen employees’ paycheques fully gutted by 9 years of NDP and Liberal deficit spending and borrowing,” he stated. “That is why employees’ paycheques do not go as far. That is why costs have risen so dramatically.”
When requested a ultimate time whether or not these 650,000 Canadians would lose entry to dental care underneath a Conservative authorities, Scheer stated his celebration will “have a completely complete plan in time for the following election.”
MPs are returning to Ottawa because the Home of Commons resumes Monday, as soon as once more underneath conventional minority authorities dynamics after greater than two years of the supply-and-confidence settlement.
Conservative Chief Pierre Poilievre, in the meantime, has promised his celebration will desk a non-confidence movement as quickly as attainable.
