Question Period Note: Dental Care - Challenges accessing the interim Canada Dental Benefit for potential recipients who do not file taxes

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• Public education on the importance of filing a tax return and the relationship between tax filing and benefit eligibility will be an important part of ensuring that the interim Canada Dental Benefit reaches those who need it most.
• The Canada Revenue Agency already provides robust support to help Canadians file their taxes if they need assistance. Health Canada will work closely with CRA to support tax filing and, in turn, uptake of this benefit.
• The interim Canada Dental Benefit is the first stage of the Government’s plan to deliver dental care for families with income under $90,000 who do not have access to dental insurance, starting with uninsured families with children under the age of 12.
• As we work to develop the long-term program to provide coverage to under 18-year-olds, seniors and persons living with a disability, the needs of these vulnerable populations will be taken into account.

Because this benefit will be disbursed through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), people who do not currently file taxes, or who are otherwise not engaged with the existing federal benefits infrastructure, will not have access to it.

Tax Non-Filers in Canada

Eligible individuals will only be able to apply for the interim Canada Dental Benefit through existing CRA infrastructure, either online through MyAccount or by telephone through the CRA call centres. In order to determine eligibility, CRA will calculate family income based on the last year’s tax return. This means that individuals who do not file taxes, or whose household members do not, will not be eligible for the benefit.

It is estimated that approximately 10-12% of Canadians do not file a tax return annually. In one study, people whose family income was below the Market Basket Measure were the least likely to file taxes, and approximately one-fifth of working-age adults in the bottom decile for family income did not file a return. People with a high school degree only, newcomers to Canada, and people who rented, rather than owned, their homes, were also less likely to file. This raises the concern that some of the individuals the Canada Dental Benefit is attempting to reach may not be eligible for the benefit due to tax return non-filing.

Barriers to Accessing Benefits for Children through CRA Delivery

Since the Canada Dental Benefit will be available to eligible families currently receiving the Canada Child Benefit, uptake of the Canada Child Benefit may serve as a reasonable proxy for estimating uptake of the dental benefit.

In the first year of availability, approximately 12% of eligible families did not receive the Canada Child Benefit. The reasons for this are likely to be complex and multi-factorial, but may include a lack of understanding of the relationship between filing an income tax return and benefit eligibility, not having a bank account, not having a stable address, not having regular access to the internet or to a telephone, or not having access to identity documents. Members of marginalized groups may also be reluctant to provide personal information to the Government of Canada in order to receive the benefit, due to a lack of trust in government.

Mitigations

Given that income must be assessed in some way for this income-tested program, and the need to develop and implement this benefit quickly using existing systems and definitions, the focus will be on helping those individuals file their taxes in order to become eligible. By doing so, they may also become eligible for other government benefits. The benefit application periods are long and would allow sufficient time for someone to file taxes and then return to apply for the benefit, should they wish.

• Applications for the interim Canada Dental Benefit will rely on income verification performed by the Canada Revenue Agency, based on the previous year’s tax return.
• It is estimated that approximately 10-12% of Canadians may not be receiving benefits to which they may otherwise be entitled because they do not file tax returns.
• People who have low household incomes, newcomers to Canada and members of marginalized groups may be part of this group.
• Some of these groups, such as newcomers to Canada, will continue to be able to apply for benefits through initiatives such as the Interim Federal Health Program, administered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
• Potential barriers to filing include a lack of understanding of the relationship between filing an income tax return and benefit eligibility, not having a bank account, not having a stable address, not having regular access to the internet or to a telephone, or not having access to identity documents.