Question Period Note: Dental Care - PT jurisdiction

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• Whether the federal government can deliver a Canada Dental Benefit, in light of PT jurisdiction over health care delivery.
• Although health care delivery is under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, the federal government continues to play an important role in health care in Canada and, in fact, we already play a significant role in dental care delivery for federal populations.
• It is within our jurisdiction to exercise the federal spending power to provide support to Canadians and that is what we are doing here - so that they can get the help they need to make dental care for their children more affordable.
• We remain committed to finding ways to work collaboratively with provinces and territories to improve access to oral health in Canada.

IF PRESSED ON DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDING BY PROVINCE …
• Provincial and territorial dental programs for children vary widely in terms of who and what is covered. For example, in Quebec where a universal program exists for children under 10, important preventative services are not covered (and older children are not covered at all).
• In those cases, families living in those jurisdictions with out-of-pocket expenses over and above what those programs cover will still be eligible to apply for the interim Canada Dental Benefit.
• The proposed delivery model for the interim benefit does not include funding to the provinces or territories – rather the Canada Revenue Agency will make payments directly to eligible Canadians through the tax system.
• The eligibility criteria and level of payment will be the same for all Canadians across the country.

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FACTS
• Under the Canada Health Act, provinces/territories (PTs) provide residents with medically or dentally required emergency/catastrophic surgical-dental procedures performed by a dentist in hospital as publicly-insured services. Outside of those services, PTs are not required to provide dental care under the public health care system.
• All PTs provide additional dental coverage, at their discretion, although eligibility and coverage is limited and varies greatly.
• In total, PTs spend an estimated $650 million a year on public dental programs.
• The federal government also plays a key role in health care in Canada. It is able to use its spending power, as long it is done in a manner that does not amount to regulation of a space that is under PT jurisdiction, which the proposed benefit does not.
• On October 20, 2022, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released a Legislative Parliamentary Note that included a supplementary information table with estimates of costs for the interim Canada Dental Benefit for each province.
• Some MPs have expressed concerns that these costing estimates imply that Quebec and Atlantic provinces with robust programs for children would be receiving a disproportionate amount of funding.
• The proposed delivery model for the interim Canada Dental Benefit does not include funding to the provinces or territories – rather the Canada Revenue Agency will make payments directly to eligible Canadians through the tax system.
• The eligibility criteria and level of payment will be the same for all Canadians across the country.