Bill C-31 cost of living relief measures related to dental care: When the mountain turns out to be a molehill

MONTREAL, Oct. 31, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Quebec is the province where households spend the most on dental care in the country. The recent update of a study published by the Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Information (IRIS) reveals that in 2019, Quebec households spent an average of $461 for direct dental care expenses, an amount that has gone up by 14.1% since 2010.

Meanwhile, the House of Commons in Ottawa has just passed Bill C-31 which will provide cheques of up to $650 to eligible families with children 12 and under to cover the cost of dental care. For the Point St. Charles Community Clinic's Health Action Committee, this measure is clearly insufficient. Given the skyrocketing price of dental care for children, this cheque demonstrates the extent to which the federal government is detached from reality. For example, the price list issued by the Association des chirurgiens dentistes du Québec indicates that a parent can expect to pay over $600 for dental cleaning (including the application of fluoride and x-rays), fillings and application of sealants on four molars for their 11 year-old child. This example only includes basic dental care, and excludes more specific and expensive treatments that could be essential for any preteen.

"Quebec parents do not need a cheque for $650, but rather that dental services be covered by the public health insurance plan for all children under 18," says Stéphane Defoy, community organizer at the Point St. Charles Community Clinic. "If Prime Minister Trudeau really wants to help low- and middle-income families, he absolutely must transfer funds to the provinces, to be exclusively used for the expansion of public coverage of oral care. Let's not forget that health is a provincial jurisdiction, so a partnership with the Government of Quebec is fundamental. For the moment, this idea of sending a cheque to families is nothing but smoke and mirrors."

Furthermore, the measure resulting from the adoption of Bill C-31 has certain similarities with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Families eligible for the $650 cheque will then have to certify to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that they do not have private insurance, that they are responsible for dental expenses, and they will also have to make sure they keep their receipts. "If the CRA considers the provided evidence and documents to be insufficient or incomplete, will families then have to reimburse the money received, as was the case for CERB?", wonders William Archambault, member of the Clinic's Health Action Committee. "The federal government has clearly learned nothing from the mistakes they made with CERB, and this time around, marginalized families will be the ones to suffer the consequences of a poorly crafted measure."

The Point St. Charles Community Clinic demands that dental care in Quebec be covered by the RAMQ, initially for children under 18 and for seniors 65 and over. "It needs to be understood that any funds invested in the expansion of public dental care coverage would contribute to reducing future health care costs", concludes Stéphane Defoy. "It is always better to invest in prevention than to have to come up with an expensive cure down the road".

About the Point St. Charles Community Clinic 
The Point St. Charles Community Clinic is a health organization run by the citizens of Point St. Charles. It provides preventive and curative services, and brings citizens together around health issues in order to improve health conditions in the short and long term. The Clinic's Health Action Committee advocates for a public health system that is universal and accessible to all.

SOURCE Pointe-Saint-Charles Community Clinic

Stéphane Defoy, Community Organizer, Point St. Charles Community Clinic, Phone : [phone], E-mail : [email protected]