Liberals are planning a temporary solution to dental care promise: sources

Sources close to the government's proposed $5.3-billion dental-care program say the Liberals are planning a temporary solution that involves giving money directly to patients in order to keep their promise to the NDP while they work on a permanent answer.

The Liberals promised the NDP a new dental-care program for low- and middle-income families in March as part of a supply and confidence agreement to prevent an election before 2025.

The government has until the end of the year to provide some kind of coverage for children under the age of 12 with an annual household income of less than $90,000.

The NDP have vowed to walk away from the deal if the deadline isn't met.

Four sources with knowledge of the government's plan, but who are not authorized to speak publicly, say the government is unlikely to meet its deadline, and is planning a stopgap solution until a permanent incarnation of the program is put in place.

Though details are scarce, the sources say the temporary solution would involve giving qualifying families the money directly to fund their dental health services while the government works on a more permanent, expanded program.

In a statement, the health minister's staff did not confirm or deny the temporary plan but say they are on track to deliver on the dental-care commitment as outlined in the agreement with the New Democrats.

NDP health critic Don Davies did not directly address the temporary plan either, but said in a statement the party has "identified several ways to ensure the target groups can access dental care on the identified timelines."

The NDP are now focused on pushing the Liberals to introduce dental-care legislation when Parliament resumes in the fall, Davies said.

"That legislation will deliver the resources needed to help children under 12 see a dentist and care for their teeth this year," he said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh echoed the health minister's faith about meeting the deadline last week.

"We're very confident we can achieve that before the end of the year, as our agreement outlines," Singh said at a news conference last Thursday.

The agreement isn't prescriptive about how the coverage should be achieved, and the government hasn't committed to any particular means of administering the program yet.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos's office has said repeatedly the department is looking at several options to meet its commitment and its end-of-year deadline.

The NDP originally envisioned a federal program that functions similarly to the federal health-benefits program run for uninsured First Nations and Inuit people.

The federal government could also offer money to provinces and territories to take it over, since many already offer similar programs and dental care has traditionally fallen within their jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, the Liberals put out a formal request for information (RFI) to members of the insurance industry two weeks ago to explore what role private companies could play in administering the program.

In that RFI, the government says if a contract is awarded the winning company would be given six months to get ready before processing claims. That timeline would be impossible to achieve before the end of December.

According to the statement from Duclos's staff, they're still consulting on the best way forward.

The Liberals have promised to extend the program to qualifying teens, seniors and persons living with disabilities next year and everyone else in the qualifying family-income bracket by the end of the supply and confidence agreement in 2025.

"It comes as no surprise that the Trudeau government is not living up to a commitment it made to buy the NDP’s support," Conservative health critic Michael Barrett said in a statement.

Barrett said Canadians should be concerned that the government is not committed to maintaining the current health system, "much less adding a new complex and expensive program to it."

The government set aside $5.3 billion over five years for the program, but the parliamentary budget officer's estimate is nearly double that at $9 billion.

Once the program is fully implemented, the Liberals' 2022 budget predicts it will cost about $1.7 billion per year to run, which is in line with the PBO's estimate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2022.