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Canadian Dental Care Plan

The debate focused on the Canadian Dental Care Plan, a benefit intended to help millions of Canadians afford dental services. A member of the NDP noted that the plan was established to ensure broad access to dental care across the country. The primary point of contention discussed was the Albertan government’s intention to opt out of the federal program and receive the funding directly. The speaker argued that because the plan is federally operated and paid for, it cannot be dismantled by a provincial decision to opt out.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

1 statement

Heather McPherson

NDP

Linked statement

“The NDP fought to create the federal dental care plan so millions of people can afford to see a dentist. Now, the premier of Alberta wants to pull the province out and take the federal money directly. This goes against what Albertans just voted for. The plan is fully run and paid for by the federal government, so no province should be able to opt out. The Prime Minister must not give Alberta this money to tear down the program.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian dental care plan exists because New Democrats fought for it. We pushed the government to deliver this benefit to millions of Canadians, many of whom could not afford to see a dentist before, and now Danielle Smith wants to take this program away from Albertans. She wants to pull Alberta out and have the federal government hand the money directly to her. This comes mere days after Albertans voted “no” to this in the referendum. They voted for better access to federal programs, not worse. Let us be clear. The Canadian dental care plan is a fully federally funded and administered insurance plan, so the very idea of an opt-out should be absurd. The Prime Minister must refuse to hand over federal funding in a way that would allow Smith to dismantle the programs that New Democrats fought so hard for. All Canadians deserve dental care. New Democrats will continue to fight for it.

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