OTTAWA — Economic and public policy experts warn the proposed federal dental benefit may not reach the families most in need because the government has chosen to distribute it through the tax system.
The federal government plans to send cheques of up to $650 to qualifying low- and medium-income households to help pay for children’s dental needs through the same platform used for Canada Child Benefit payments.
That is run through the Canada Revenue Agency, which the experts suggest could be a problem because many low-income families are less likely to file tax returns.
That means they face barriers to accessing the Canada Child Benefit payments and could encounter similar roadblocks when it comes to getting the new dental benefit.
“Low-income people, homeless people, people on social assistance — all of these groups of people have really low tax filing rates and low take-ups of benefits that are already out there like the Canada Child Benefit,” said Gillian Petit, an economist and research associate at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.
“Pushing out the dental benefit using the same platform is going to run into a lot of the same issues.”
The same is true for those who do not speak English or French, she said, citing the onerous and daunting administrative work as a potential factor. She said this will likely also be the case for the proposed dental benefit.
The Canada Revenue Agency plans to use past tax returns to determine if families meet the income criteria and confirm that they have a child under the age of 12. After that, families will need to attest that they do not have private dental insurance and that they have out-of-pocket dental expenses. They will also have to provide their dentist’s contact information and the approximate date of their child’s appointment and keep their receipts in case they are audited.
“It’s just a lot of paperwork and time,” Petit said.
Jennifer Robson, an associate professor and program director of political management at Carleton University, says about 10.5 per cent of adults with children under the age of 18 don’t file a tax return, and those families tend to be below the poverty line.
“Intuitively, those are an awful lot of people who are probably financially vulnerable and less likely to have access to dental insurance,” said Robson.
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, has previously spoken about how there are also many reasons Indigenous Peoples may not fill out their income tax returns, from principled stands against colonization and lack of trust in government to lower literacy stemming from poorly funded public services.
She made the comments in June, when auditor general Karen Hogan found the government was not doing enough to make sure income-tested supports like the child benefit get to hard-to-reach populations like those living on reserves, despite spending tens of millions of dollars on outreach.
The dental benefit is a key element of the supply and confidence agreement struck between the Liberals and the NDP, which stipulates that the government has until the end of the year to offer dental care to children under the age of 12 with a household income under $90,000.
This newbenefit is therefore meant to be an interim measure while the federal government works on a more complete dental-care plan.
“This is what you get when you rush policy because you have an artificial deadline,” Robson said. “You cobble something together because a better delivery mechanism would take an awful lot more time to develop.”
In a joint statement, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said children shouldn’t have to wait to access the care that they need.
“The Canada Revenue Agency has the resources to quickly deliver this interim program due to its extensive infrastructure, long-standing experience in providing services to Canadians and outreach work within communities to help Canadians navigate the tax and benefit system,” they said in the written statement sent Tuesday.
The ministers urged potentially eligible parents to sign up for a CRA account and make sure they filed their 2021 tax returns.
Robson disagrees. She said the tax-collection agency is designed to do just that — collect taxes — and is not equipped to distribute social benefits.
“The government learned during the pandemic that CRA is pretty good at cutting cheques to a lot of people,” she said. “I don’t think that we have come to grips with what that comes along with.”
The Liberal government’s dental-care legislation is still awaiting a second-reading vote in the House of Commons, but is expected to pass with support from the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2022.
EDMONTON – The legendary k.d. lang got the band back together at the Canadian Country Music Association awards show.
Lang teamed up with the Reclines for the first time in 35 years to belt out “Big Boned Gal” from their last album together in 1989.
Clad in a blue and green western-style dress, lang strut across the stage in Edmonton to embody the “big boned gal from southern Alberta.”
The awards show saw Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter and Ontario’s Josh Ross take home hardware for being best female and male artists of the year.
Ross also won entertainer of the year and single of the year for “Trouble.”
Ontario artist Jade Eagleson won album of the year for “Do It Anyway.”
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., won fans’ choice and group of the year.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Ross says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year made the hard work worth it.
Porter won for female artist of the year and top video for “Chasing Tornadoes.”
The female artist win ends the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until now.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
EDMONTON – Ontario country artist Jade Eagleson has won album of the year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Edmonton.
The singer from Bailieboro, Ont., was up for six awards alongside Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter.
Eagleson took home album of the year for “Do It Anyway” and says he’s thankful to his wife and management team for helping him reach the level he’s at.
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., also won fans’ choice and group of the year at the award show, held in Edmonton.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Another Ontario crooner, Josh Ross, has taken home a trio of awards, receiving entertainer of the year, male artist of the year and single of the year.
He says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year makes the hard work worth it.
Porter took home female artist of the year, ending the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until tonight.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
The return of k.d. lang and the Reclines was expected to be a highlight of the show.
The appearance will mark the first time the Alberta songstress has teamed up with the band in 35 years and is tied to lang’s induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
The awards show is back in Alberta’s capital for the first time since 2014. It was held in Hamilton last year and in Calgary in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
VANDERHOOF, B.C. – British Columbia Conservatives are promising changes they say will bring more stability to the province’s struggling forest industry.
Leader John Rustad announced his plan for the sector a week before the official launch of the provincial election campaign, saying a Conservative government would do away with stumpage fees paid when timber is harvested and instead put a tax on the final products that are produced.
Rustad said Saturday that under a provincial Conservative government, a small fee may be charged upfront, but the bulk would come at the end of the process, depending on what type of product is created.
He also promised to review how wildfires are managed, as well as streamline the permit process and review what he calls the province’s “uncompetitive cost structure.”
“British Columbia is by far the highest cost producers of any jurisdiction in North America. We need to be able to drive down those costs, so that our forest sector can actually be able to do the reinvestment, to be able to create the jobs and make sure that they’re still there to be able to support our communities,” he said.
The governing New Democrats meanwhile, say eliminating stumpage fees would inflame the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and hurt forestry workers.
In a statement issued by the NDP, Andrew Mercier, the party’s candidate in Langley-Willowbrook, said Rustad failed to support the industry when he was in government under the former BC Liberals.
“Not only will Rustad’s old thinking and recycled ideas fail to deliver, his proposal to eliminate stumpage would inflame the softwood lumber dispute — punishing forestry workers and communities,” Mercier said, accusing Rustad of ignoring the complexity of the challenges facing the industry.
The softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada stretches back decades. In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce nearly doubled duties on softwood lumber.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng has said Canada has taken steps to launch two legal challenges under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Rustad said a provincial Conservative government would push hard to get a deal with the United States over the ongoing dispute “whether it’s with the rest of Canada or by itself.”
He said his party’s proposed changes are in the name of bringing “stability” and “hope” to the industry that has seen multiple closures of mills in rural communities over the last several years.
Most recently, Canfor Corp. decided to shutter two northern British Columbia sawmills earlier this month, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed by the end of the year.
According to the United Steelworkers union, Canfor has closed 10 mills in the province since November 2011, including nine in northern B.C.
Jeff Bromley, chair of the United Steelworkers wood council, said Saturday the idea of changes in favour of taxing the final product has been floated in the past.
He said the finer details of the Conservative plan will be important, but that the system needs to be improved and “new ideas are certainly something I’d be willing to entertain.”
“Something needs to happen, or the industry is just going to bleed and wither away and be a shadow of its former self,” Bromley said.
“Politics aside, if (Rustad) can come up with a policy that enables my members to work, then I would be supportive of that. But then I’m supportive of any government that would come up with policies and fibre for our mills to run. Period.”
When Canfor announced its latest closures, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the sector was a “foundational part” of the province and the current NDP government would work to support both local jobs and wood manufacturing operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024
