The fall parliamentary session kicked off last week with the introduction of several government bills that focused on providing solutions for the cost of living challenges facing many Canadians. An urgent NDP priority that the Liberal government had committed to supporting to satisfy the government’s current confidence-of-supply agreement is a national dental care plan. Jagmeet Singh’s NDP has been pressuring the Liberals to address the affordability challenges facing Canadians – including benefits for affordable housing, as well as national pharmacare and dental care plans. These are some of the initiatives that were included in the Liberals’ deal with the NDP not to trigger an election before 2025. Under the agreement, the Liberals committed to begin supporting dental care by starting a program by the end of the year for children under the age of 12. Jagmeet Singh said in response that the NDP is very confident the plan will be in place before 2023 – while warning that there will be repercussions if it isn’t. This is the tricky political reality that the Trudeau’s Liberals are facing this session.
So far, the Liberals appear to be embracing that challenge. The Prime Minister said at last month’s cabinet retreat that the federal government will work to ensure “those who need support don’t get left behind.” With that, Trudeau promised major pieces of legislation this fall that would directly address affordability. Soon after, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos tabled Bill C-31 in the House of Commons – an act respecting cost of living relief measures related to dental care and rental housing. Families making less than $90,000 a year will receive up to $650 for every child under the age of 12, to help pay for their dental care services. Applicants must provide the Canada Revenue Agency with contact information for their licensed dental-care practitioner, the month of the planned appointment and confirm that they do not have access to a private health insurance plan.
The benefit is part of a package of new legislation aimed at easing the burden of inflation and the rising cost of living. The legislation also includes a one-time $500 top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit for families with an adjusted net income of $35,000 and singles who earn less than $20,000. Applicants must pay at least 30 percent of their adjusted net income on rent to qualify. Minister Duclos said the government wants this important legislation to pass through the House of Commons quickly, in order to begin benefiting Canadian families before the end of the year. Last week, the bill reached second reading and will continue to make its way through the House of Commons this week.
The federal government expects roughly 500,000 children to qualify for the benefit. To satisfy the NDP’s desire to have a full-fledged Canadian dental care plan, Minister Duclos said that the interim dental program is just a start. Health Canada will work to roll out a full program by 2023. The NDP acknowledged that this timeline is very ambitious, which is why the NDP was amenable to an interim measure. Jagmeet Singh said that this “flexibility allowed for the government to deliver that in a flexible way.”
With continued peace in the political valley, both the Liberals and the NDP can concentrate on the new leader of the Conservative Party. Pierre Poilievre’s focus on inflation, the rising cost of living and economic uncertainty appears to be striking a chord with some Canadians. While the Tory uptick in the polls may be temporary, it likely means that “affordability” will be a legislative theme for some time to come.
