Question Period Note: Canadian Dental Care Plan

Public Services and Procurement Canada is working with Health Canada to support the design of the new Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Note: All questions regarding the collaboration with provincial and territorial partners and the design of the program should be directed to Health Canada

• The Government is committed to strengthening Canada’s health care system and the new Canadian Dental Care Plan supports this objective
  • Public Services and Procurement Canada is working with Health Canada and its partners to establish an open, fair, transparent and competitive procurement process for the new Canadian Dental Care Plan
  • We have engaged the industry for advice through a Request for Information (RFI) process. Most recently, an Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) was posted on October 28 to produce a list of qualified vendors who could deliver a long-term, Canada-wide dental care program
  • Our goal is to support Health Canada to provide dental care for the estimated 7 to 9 million Canadians who are unable to access proper dental care

In Budget 2022, the Government of Canada committed $5.3 billion over five years to Health Canada to provide dental care for the estimated 7 to 9 million Canadians who are unable to access proper dental care because of the cost. This will start with under 12-year-olds in 2022, and is expected to expand to under 18-year-olds, seniors, and persons living with a disability in 2023. Full implementation is expected by 2025. The program would be restricted to families with an income of less than $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for those under $70,000 annually in income.

Public Services and Procurement Canada issued a Request for Information (RFI) on July 25, 2022. The RFI closed on August 22, 2022, and 26 responses were received from various organizations within the dental care community. The feedback received helped guide the development of a long-term dental care program.

On October 28, 2022, PSPC issued an Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) to invite suppliers with a proven capacity in the field of dental coverage administration to participate in a rigorous, competitive procurement process. PSPC will then establish a list of qualified vendors who could deliver a long-term, Canada-wide dental care program with the scope and scale that will be needed to serve all eligible Canadians. The ITQ is open to responses from all vendors and will be posted for 38 days, closing on December 5, 2022.

Once the ITQ is completed, a two-phase evaluation process will take place and up to three qualified vendors will be invited to participate in the Review and Refine Requirements (RRR) phase. This phase is a 10-week collaborative period, starting February 1, 2023 and closing on April 15, 2023, where PSPC will work with the qualified vendors to refine the requirement and finalize the draft Request for Proposals (RFP).

It is anticipated that the final RFP will be posted on May 15, 2023 for a minimum 30 days and a contract awarded by October 2023.

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