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NDP won’t bend any further on federal dental-care plan, Singh warns

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OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party was willing to be flexible on the first phase of the Liberal government’s dental-care plan, but in future the New Democrats will bend no further.

The government agreed to bring in a federal dental plan for uninsured low- and middle-income families as part of a supply and confidence agreement with the NDP.

In exchange for fulfilling its vision for dental care, among other priorities, the NDP agreed not to trigger an election before 2025.

The agreement stipulates that the government deliver dental care to children under age 12 who meet the criteria by the end of this year.

Singh acknowledged in an interview that the timeline was ambitious, which is why the NDP was amenable to an interim measure. “That flexibility allowed for the government to deliver that in a flexible way.”

Rather than launch a full-fledged program, the government opted to deliver cheques directly to qualifying families. The new benefit provides up to $650 for each eligible child, and is based on their family’s income.

To access the money, families with a household income of less than $90,000 need to attest that their child does not have access to private dental coverage, they will have out-of-pocked dental expenses they plan to use the money for, and they will be able to show receipts.

The government announced the benefit would be a “first stage,” while a more comprehensive program is developed.

Singh said his party agreed to the benefit plan on condition the full program be ready for the next phase of qualifying patients by the end of next year.

The program is supposed to extend to all kids under 18, people with disabilities and seniors by the end of 2023, and apply to all members of qualifying families by 2025.

That’s not the only line in the sand the NDP has drawn.

“It’s got to be the full, federally administered program by 2023,” Singh said.

That means, as far as the NDP is concerned, the government can’t have the provinces deliver the dental-care program, as they did with child care.

The health minister’s office said in a statement that the government continues to work with partners, including provinces and territories, to improve access to dental care, and more details will come “in due course.”

The fact that the government is taking extra time to get the program right is good news, said Carlos Quiñonez, vice-dean and director of dentistry at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University.

“Best case scenario, for me, would be if there was a significant runway — one, two, even three years — to sort of think through all of the things that will need to be considered in order to achieve a likelihood of success for such a plan,” said Quiñonez, who was consulted by the federal government.

For one thing, the government will need to carefully work out how to deliver dental care to uninsured people without disturbing what is “ostensibly, a relatively good system,” he said.

Another NDP condition is that the plan, once complete, include “the highest coverage possible” with services that will protect people’s quality of life.

“We want to make sure that quality of life is the top notch: best quality and the best practices,” Singh said, recognizing that some services would fall outside of that scope.

That balance can be difficult to find, though, Quiñonez said.

“To me, that’s a very important issue because it not only has to be scientifically defensible, it also has to be ethically defensible.”

It’s difficult to make hard-set rules about how many cleanings someone is entitled to per year, for example, because people with greater oral health needs might need more care, he said. “These are exactly the reasons why I think it’s prudent to take some time and really think through what the implications of all of this are.”

Those questions are further complicated when one considers the way health and esthetics have become entwined in dentistry, said Catherine Carstairs, a professor in the department of history at the University of Guelph and author of The Smile Gap: a history of oral health and social inequality.

“I think it is hard in dentistry to distinguish between what’s a need and what’s seen to be cosmetic because there’s really quite a blending there.”

Carstairs said she was disappointed by the recently introduced benefit program, but still has high hopes for what the federal government can achieve in time.

“It’s not really going to go very far toward addressing the needs that people have,” she said. “But I’m still pleased to see that the program seems to be proceeding in some capacity.”

Legislation to enable the benefit payments is expected to be tabled in the House of Commons soon as MPs officially return from their summer break.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2022.

 

Laura Osman, The Canadian Press

Politics

Political parties cool to idea of new federal regulations for nomination contests

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OTTAWA – Several federal political parties are expressing reservations about the prospect of fresh regulations to prevent foreign meddlers from tainting their candidate nomination processes.

Elections Canada has suggested possible changes to safeguard nominations, including barring non-citizens from helping choose candidates, requiring parties to publish contest rules and explicitly outlawing behaviour such as voting more than once.

However, representatives of the Bloc Québécois, Green Party and NDP have told a federal commission of inquiry into foreign interference that such changes may be unwelcome, difficult to implement or counterproductive.

The Canada Elections Act currently provides for limited regulation of federal nomination races and contestants.

For instance, only contestants who accept $1,000 in contributions or incur $1,000 in expenses have to file a financial return. In addition, the act does not include specific obligations concerning candidacy, voting, counting or results reporting other than the identity of the successful nominee.

A report released in June by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians expressed concern about how easily foreign actors can take advantage of loopholes and vulnerabilities to support preferred candidates.

Lucy Watson, national director of the NDP, told the inquiry Thursday she had concerns about the way in which new legislation would interact with the internal decision-making of the party.

“We are very proud of the fact that our members play such a significant role in shaping the internal policies and procedures and infrastructure of the party, and I would not want to see that lost,” she said.

“There are guidelines, there are best practices that we would welcome, but if we were to talk about legal requirements and legislation, that’s something I would have to take away and put further thought into, and have discussions with folks who are integral to the party’s governance.”

In an August interview with the commission of inquiry, Bloc Québécois executive director Mathieu Desquilbet said the party would be opposed to any external body monitoring nomination and leadership contest rules.

A summary tabled Thursday says Desquilbet expressed doubts about the appropriateness of requiring nomination candidates to file a full financial report with Elections Canada, saying the agency’s existing regulatory framework and the Bloc’s internal rules on the matter are sufficient.

Green Party representatives Jon Irwin and Robin Marty told the inquiry in an August interview it would not be realistic for an external body, like Elections Canada, to administer nomination or leadership contests as the resources required would exceed the federal agency’s capacity.

A summary of the interview says Irwin and Marty “also did not believe that rules violations could effectively be investigated by an external body like the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections.”

“The types of complaints that get raised during nomination contests can be highly personal, politically driven, and could overwhelm an external body.”

Marty, national campaign director for the party, told the inquiry Thursday that more reporting requirements would also place an administrative burden on volunteers and riding workers.

In addition, he said that disclosing the vote tally of a nomination contest could actually help foreign meddlers by flagging the precise number of ballots needed for a candidate to be chosen.

Irwin, interim executive director of the Greens, said the ideal tactic for a foreign country would be working to get someone in a “position of power” within a Canadian political party.

He said “the bad guys are always a step ahead” when it comes to meddling in the Canadian political process.

In May, David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service at the time, said it was very clear from the design of popular social media app TikTok that data gleaned from its users is available to the Chinese government.

A December 2022 CSIS memo tabled at the inquiry Thursday said TikTok “has the potential to be exploited” by Beijing to “bolster its influence and power overseas, including in Canada.”

Asked about the app, Marty told the inquiry the Greens would benefit from more “direction and guidance,” given the party’s lack of resources to address such things.

Representatives of the Liberal and Conservative parties are slated to appear at the inquiry Friday, while chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault is to testify at a later date.

After her party representatives appeared Thursday, Green Leader Elizabeth May told reporters it was important for all party leaders to work together to come up with acceptable rules.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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New Brunswick election candidate profile: Green Party Leader David Coon

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FREDERICTON – A look at David Coon, leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick:

Born: Oct. 28, 1956.

Early years: Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, he spent about three decades as an environmental advocate.

Education: A trained biologist, he graduated with a bachelor of science from McGill University in Montreal in 1978.

Family: He and his wife Janice Harvey have two daughters, Caroline and Laura.

Before politics: Worked as an environmental educator, organizer, activist and manager for 33 years, mainly with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

Politics: Joined the Green Party of Canada in May 2006 and was elected leader of the New Brunswick Green Party in September 2012. Won a seat in the legislature in 2014 — a first for the province’s Greens.

Quote: “It was despicable. He’s clearly decided to take the low road in this campaign, to adopt some Trump-lite fearmongering.” — David Coon on Sept. 12, 2024, reacting to Blaine Higgs’s claim that the federal government had decided to send 4,600 asylum seekers to New Brunswick.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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New Brunswick election profile: Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs

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FREDERICTON – A look at Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.

Born: March 1, 1954.

Early years: The son of a customs officer, he grew up in Forest City, N.B., near the Canada-U.S. border.

Education: Graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1977.

Family: Married his high-school sweetheart, Marcia, and settled in Saint John, N.B., where they had four daughters: Lindsey, Laura, Sarah and Rachel.

Before politics: Hired by Irving Oil a week after he graduated from university and was eventually promoted to director of distribution. Worked for 33 years at the company.

Politics: Elected to the legislature in 2010 and later served as finance minister under former Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward. Elected Tory leader in 2016 and has been premier since 2018.

Quote: “I’ve always felt parents should play the main role in raising children. No one is denying gender diversity is real. But we need to figure out how to manage it.” — Blaine Higgs in a year-end interview in 2023, explaining changes to school policies about gender identity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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