While NDP pioneer Tommy Douglas had a vision for Canada that included free dental care for everyone, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling the NDP fiscally responsible for not rolling it out all at once.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s plan promises free dental care for Canadians with household earnings less than $70,000 a year, and a sliding scale co-payment program for those in households that earn less than $90,000 annually.
“Recognizing that there are limits is always a good sign,” Aaron Wudrick of the Canadian Taxpayers Association told Global News.
“This is an issue for a lot of Canadians, but at least recognizing that you can’t promise the moon tomorrow is always a good thing.”
But Wudrick says he can’t give the plan a full thumbs up because he still has questions about affordability and implementation.
It’s expected to cost $860 million annually once it stabilizes, with a $1.9 billion price tag for the second year of the program, as Canadians get caught up with their services.
Wudrick points out the costing assumes private plans will maintain the same level of coverage.
“It’s fair to say some of them will start dropping the dental plan” once the government starts picking up the tab, he said.
“So the actual cost to taxpayers could be substantially higher.”
He also points to the fact that health care is largely a provincial issue.
“It’s not clear…what buy in you’d have to get from the provinces for how this plan could actually be realized,” Wudrick said.
The NDP’s dental offerings go beyond the basics of cleaning and cavities. New Democrats are promising a basket of services including root canals, x-rays, dentures and braces for non-cosmetic purposes.
Singh calls it “a bold step forward” toward offering dental care for everyone — a down payment on Douglas’ plan.
WATCH: Coverage of the 2019 Canadian election campaign on Globalnews.ca
“Essentially we’re delivering a federal government insurance plan to cover those Canadians who have no coverage,” Singh said at his announcement in Sudbury, Ont. on Wednesday.
“That is an immediate plan that will immediately lift 4.3 million people out of the position where they have no public or private insurance.”
The Canadian Dental Association told Global News it needs more information on exactly who will be helped by the NDP plan and how it will roll out, noting there are a number of vulnerable groups that don’t have access to good care, especially Indigenous youth.
“We’re happy to work with any government that’s willing to do things that will try and have some targeted programs to help the thirty per cent or so of Canadians that don’t have access to care,” said CDA president Alexander Mutchmor.
The Green Party is also campaigning on a plan that includes free dental care for low income Canadians.
“Our costing showed that this would involve a budget hit of more than $40 billion; there is no way that is feasible at the present time,” Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said in a press release released shortly after the NDP event.
Global News asked the Green Party twice for clarification about who exactly would qualify and which services would be offered for free, but did not receive a response before deadline.
Global News also reached out to the Liberals and the Conservatives for a response to the NDP plan from one of their candidates who is an expert on health care, but neither party offered someone up for an interview.
A Liberal party spokesperson sent a statement that detailed their record investing in health care without mentioning dentistry in any form.