On Monday, the federal government unveiled the details of its new Canadian Dental Care Plan, building on the pre-existing Canada Dental Benefit, stating that access to oral health care should not depend on a person’s ability to pay.
While the first iteration of this program was only offered to children, as officials worked behind the scenes to set up the full-fledged national dental care plan, this new insurance program will be accessible for up to nine million low-income uninsured Canadians of all ages once completely up and running in 2025, the government estimates.
To implement this public program, the federal government has committed $13 billion over five years, starting this year, and is budgeting $4.4 billion annually from there. But there’s lots of nuance to this big announcement, including how and when Canadians can access this support.
Here’s what you need to know.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
In order to qualify for the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), you have to meet the following criteria:
Have to be a Canadian resident with no access to dental insurance;
Have an adjusted family net income of less than $90,000; and
Have filed your tax return for the previous year.
According to the government, Canadian residents with access to a provincial or territorial dental benefit program are eligible. “In that case, coverage will be coordinated to ensure no duplication and avoid gaps in oral health care,” the government’s information page states.
The Canadian government will consider not having access to dental insurance to mean:
Coverage is not available through your employer or a family member’s employer benefits;
Coverage is not available through your pension or a family member’s pension benefits; or
Coverage has not been purchased by yourself, a family member or through a group plan.
Eligibility for children under 18 will be determined based on their parent or guardian’s eligibility.
“This is the largest coverage rollout in the history of Canada,” Health Minister Mark Holland said Monday.
For all, eligibility will be reassessed annually.
PHASED ROLLOUT
Given the scope of this new dental plan, and in an effort to have as smooth of an initial rollout as possible, the government has decided to offer access to this new coverage in phases.
First up will be seniors.
Starting in December 2023, applications to enter the program will open for seniors aged 87 and older. Those aged 77 to 86 will have their turn to apply in January 2024. In February, seniors aged 72 to 76 will have access, followed by those aged 70 to 71 in March. Seniors aged 65 to 69 can apply for the program in May.
Then, Canadians with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate, as well as children under the age of 18, can start applying as of June 2024.
All remaining eligible Canadians are scheduled to gain access in 2025.
HOW WILL APPLICATIONS WORK?
Broadly, as Citizens’ Services Minister Terry Beech said Monday, Canadians don’t need to do anything yet other than make sure they have filed their taxes.
To start, seniors who may be eligible will receive letters in the mail inviting them to apply through Service Canada, with information about how to verify their eligibility and apply by telephone via an automated Interactive Voice Response system.
“This letter will include a personalized application code and instructions on how to apply,” according to background information provided to reporters on Monday.
How do you know if you should keep an eye out for one of these letters? If you are or will be 70 years old as of March 31, 2024; if you meet the income threshold based on your 2022 tax filing; and if you were a Canadian resident for tax purposes that year.
Applicants going through the telephone process will be notified immediately whether they are eligible and if their application has been accepted.
The first online applications — through a yet-to-be-created portal — will be accepted as of May 2024 for the age groups allowed to apply by then. Once this online system is up and running, it will be how all future applications are accepted.
Parents and caregivers who are already using the “Canada Dental Benefit” system can continue to use that Canada Revenue Agency-run application process, until their turn comes to tap in to the expanded system as of June 2024. Here’s some more information on this existing benefit program.
WHAT WILL BE COVERED?
According to the government, “a wide range of oral health care services will be covered,” including preventative dental procedures such as cleanings, polishing and fluoride treatments.
Diagnostic services such as exams and X-rays, as well as more involved procedures such as cavity fillings, dentures and root canals, are also expected to be covered.
The expectation is that through the CDCP, oral health providers will directly bill to the federal plan being operated by Sun Life, rather than make patients first pay out-of-pocket and seek a refund after the fact.
Though, not all applicants will be eligible for 100 per cent coverage.
The CDCP will reimburse a percentage of eligible expenses, depending on applicants’ income level, with the remainder being a copay with the patient. For example:
Canadians with an adjusted annual family net income of less than $70,000 will have no copayment;
Canadians with an adjusted annual family net income between $70,000 and $79,999 will have a 40 per cent copayment; and
Canadians with an adjusted annual family net income between $80,000 and $89,999 will have a 60 per cent copayment.
“A co-payment is the percentage of CDCP fees that is not covered by the CDCP, and that people covered under the CDCP will have to pay directly to the oral health provider,” reads the government’s information page.
WHEN WILL COVERAGE START?
If you’ve read through and are now wondering when you can start making claims for dental care, you may want to hold off on planning to have any upcoming appointments covered.
While the start date to access this system will depend on when you’re eligible to apply and the completion of your enrolment, seniors in the program will be able to see an oral health provider “as early as May 2024.”
Once Service Canada has deemed an applicant eligible, their information will be shared with the insurance company. Sun Life will then handle the enrolment and notification of Canadians on their specific coverage start date, details of their plan and accompanying member card via a welcome package.
“Your coverage will begin on the date provided in the welcome package you receive from Sun Life. Appointments with an oral health provider should be scheduled as of that date, and no sooner, for the eligible oral health care services to be covered under the plan,” reads the government’s information page. “The CDCP will not reimburse you for oral health care services received before the start date.”
Lastly, when the time comes to make an appointment, Canadians will have to ask their oral health-care provider if they have enrolled in the federal plan, as there are also requirements for dentist and hygienists to opt in.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
