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 deal to stave off an election before 2025.
The government has until the end of the year to provide some kind of coverage for children under 12 with an annual family income of less than $90,000.
The NDP has pledged to withdraw from the deal if the deadline is not met.
Four sources with knowledge of the government’s plan, but 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 in place.
While details are scarce, sources say the temporary solution would involve giving eligible families money directly to fund their dental 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 interim plan, but said it is on track to meet the dental care commitment outlined in the agreement with the New Democrats.
NDP health critic Don Davis did not directly address the interim plan, but said in a statement that the party “has identified a number of ways to ensure that target groups can access dental care on the designated timelines.”
The NDP is now focused on pushing the Liberals to introduce dental care legislation when Parliament resumes in the fall, Davis said.
“This legislation will provide the resources needed to help children under 12 see the dentist and take care of their teeth this year,” he said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated the health minister’s faith in meeting the deadline last week.
“We are very confident that we can achieve this before the end of the year as outlined in our agreement,” Singh told a news conference last Thursday.
The agreement is not definitive on how coverage should be achieved, and the government has not committed to any specific means of administering the program yet.
The office of Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has repeatedly said the ministry is considering various options to meet its commitment and the year-end deadline.
The NDP originally envisioned a federal program that works similarly to the federal health benefits program that operates for uninsured First Nations and Inuit.
The federal government could also offer money to provinces and territories to take it on, since many already offer similar programs and dental care traditionally falls under their jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the Liberals issued a formal request for information (RFI) to members of the insurance industry two weeks ago to explore the role private companies could play in running the scheme.
In this RFI, the government says that if awarded a contract, the winning company will be given six months to prepare before claims are processed. This timetable would be impossible to achieve before the end of December.
According to the statement from Duclos’ staff, they are still consulting on the best way forward.
The Liberals have promised to extend the program to teenagers, seniors and people with disabilities who qualify next year, and to everyone else in the family income bracket who qualify by the end of the supply and confidence deal in 2025.
“It’s no surprise that the Trudeau government is not living up to its commitment to buy NDP 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 complicated and expensive program to it.”
The government allocated $5.3 billion over five years for the program, but the parliamentary budget officer’s estimate is almost double that at $9 billion.
Once the program is fully implemented, the Liberals’ 2022 budget projects it will cost about $1.7 billion a year to run, which is in line with the PBO’s estimate.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 8, 2022.
