OTTAWA-
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is working hard to meet its year-end deadline to provide dental coverage for children, but acknowledges providing new services is “complicated”.
The Liberals have agreed to provide dental coverage to low- and middle-income children by the end of the year as part of their supply and confidence agreement with New Democrats to prevent the minority government from toppling before 2025.
Several groups have raised concerns about the very tight deadline, and sources familiar with the scheme say the government is working on a temporary solution to give money directly to eligible families while it comes up with a permanent scheme.
Freeland was asked about the interim measure at a news conference in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke after visiting an auto parts manufacturing plant.
She says delivering new services to Canadians is complicated, as the government learned when negotiating a child care funding package with the provinces, and Canadians understand that.
Freeland says the government made a clear commitment when it set aside $5.3 billion over five years in the last budget to pay for the dental care program, and is working hard to achieve that.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 9, 2022.