Jagmeet Singh warns Justin Trudeau their deal is dead if no dental plan by year’s end
It would always be a gamble.
Putting one’s reputation on someone else’s actions.
But NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is clear he is not bluffing.
If the core of the care and trust agreement between the NDP and the Liberal – a new dental program for low-income children under 12 – is not implemented by the end of the year, Singh tells the star he will back out of the agreement.
“I made it clear to the prime minister straight away that this had to happen,” Singh said in a telephone interview. “There’s just no option for them. This has to happen. That’s the deal.”
Read Also: "Interest rates are a corporatist plot": The imagined economic thoughts of Jagmeet Singh
Dental care is a key element of the agreement signed by Singh and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this spring, which aimed to guarantee the Liberals they would stay in power for the next three years. In exchange for the NDP giving up its strong opposition role to back the ruling Liberals on budget bills and other confidence votes, Trudeau pledged to create a new $9 billion welfare program and action on 24 other measures, including investments in the housing, advance pharmacare and reduce emissions.
The Dental Promise has clear timelines.
“This is the accomplishment for this year, 2022,” notes Singh. “We have no room for mistakes, we have no room for exceptions.”
NDP National Director Anne McGrath is equally determined. “I can’t imagine that being a scenario,” she said recently when asked about a possible extension if the Grits’ efforts fall short.
According to the deal, children of families earning less than $90,000 must have access to subsidized dental care by the end of 2022, with those earning less than $70,000 not having to receive co-payments. In 2023, the program must be expanded to include children under the age of 18 as well as seniors and people with disabilities. The entire program must be fully implemented by 2025.
But dental care isn’t the only deal breaker, according to Singh. “Two services must be rendered,” he states, pointing to the agreement. “The $500 housing boost for those receiving Canada Housing Benefit needs to be out the door, and children under 12 need to be able to take care of their teeth. Those are the two things on which I was very firm when I met the Prime Minister. And he understood very clearly that these things must happen …
“You just don’t have a choice.”
The NDP leader’s warning comes as the federal Liberals grapple with their summer of disability. There are months of delays for passports and years of waiting at immigration, where some 2.7 million applicants are waiting for their files to be processed. Singh’s own holiday plans have been upended by a passport delay for his seven-month-old daughter.
If the liberals and government bureaucrats can’t get basic — and long-standing — services up and running, how are they going to get a new dental program up and running without it turning into another phoenix, a public-service-system bullshit that destroys the Costing taxpayers billions? unplanned costs and no results delivered?
Everyone in Ottawa recognizes that liberals want to deliver on their promises.
And everyone down to the prime minister knows what’s at stake, a government source involved with the filing said. “We are well aware – on all levels.”
“We are on track to stay on schedule if all goes well,” added this person.
But the “serious government problem with the supply” has lingered on McGrath’s mind since the deal was signed. “I’ve been saying all along (that the biggest concern) was implementation because the government has a problem in that area.”
When Singh worries the Liberals won’t deliver, he puts on a brave face.
“The government is messing up a lot of things,” he notes, but “I’m confident it will happen.”
NDP and Liberal officials are in constant communication, and the New Democrats are urging the government to act, he claims. There are also contingency plans, he says, but declines to elaborate on what those are.
“We knew it was very ambitious to implement (the program) so quickly,” he notes. “We had to work on a very tight schedule. So we weren’t picky about the shipping method. But the result must be that people who qualify must (have access).”
“We can work on improving the deployment mechanism for the second wave,” he adds. “We’re open to how that happens, but it has to happen.”
The Liberals have not yet decided how the dental program will be implemented.
Two weeks ago the government issued a request for information asking industry input on the role they could play in a national dental care programme. Insurance companies have already expressed an interest. (The value of the initial contract is over $99 million for an estimated 300,000 users, although the spring budget has earmarked $5.3 billion over five years to expand to a potential nine million Canadians.)
Ottawa is unlikely to turn to the provinces for help, sources say. If the federal government declines to work with private insurers, it will likely administer the program itself, as it does for federal prisoners and Indigenous Canadians through the Indigenous Services Canada Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program.
It’s a program that Singh believes works reasonably well in general, although he acknowledges that the NIHB’s approval process is “very difficult at times,” that “they don’t respond in a timely manner,” and that “they turn down claims too quickly.” .
Singh has personally done a lot to make this arrangement work. The NDP hopes to prove that it can make a difference, that a vote for the party is not a wasted vote. But if the government doesn’t deliver, Singh’s big bet will blow up, proving the naysayers right.
And give him a reason to walk away.
Althia Raj is an Ottawa-based national politics columnist for the star. Follow her on Twitter: @althiarajSHARE:
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source: https://www.thestar.com/politics/po...l-is-dead-if-no-dental-plan-by-years-end.html
It would always be a gamble.
Putting one’s reputation on someone else’s actions.
But NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is clear he is not bluffing.
If the core of the care and trust agreement between the NDP and the Liberal – a new dental program for low-income children under 12 – is not implemented by the end of the year, Singh tells the star he will back out of the agreement.
“I made it clear to the prime minister straight away that this had to happen,” Singh said in a telephone interview. “There’s just no option for them. This has to happen. That’s the deal.”
Read Also: "Interest rates are a corporatist plot": The imagined economic thoughts of Jagmeet Singh
Dental care is a key element of the agreement signed by Singh and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this spring, which aimed to guarantee the Liberals they would stay in power for the next three years. In exchange for the NDP giving up its strong opposition role to back the ruling Liberals on budget bills and other confidence votes, Trudeau pledged to create a new $9 billion welfare program and action on 24 other measures, including investments in the housing, advance pharmacare and reduce emissions.
The Dental Promise has clear timelines.
“This is the accomplishment for this year, 2022,” notes Singh. “We have no room for mistakes, we have no room for exceptions.”
NDP National Director Anne McGrath is equally determined. “I can’t imagine that being a scenario,” she said recently when asked about a possible extension if the Grits’ efforts fall short.
According to the deal, children of families earning less than $90,000 must have access to subsidized dental care by the end of 2022, with those earning less than $70,000 not having to receive co-payments. In 2023, the program must be expanded to include children under the age of 18 as well as seniors and people with disabilities. The entire program must be fully implemented by 2025.
But dental care isn’t the only deal breaker, according to Singh. “Two services must be rendered,” he states, pointing to the agreement. “The $500 housing boost for those receiving Canada Housing Benefit needs to be out the door, and children under 12 need to be able to take care of their teeth. Those are the two things on which I was very firm when I met the Prime Minister. And he understood very clearly that these things must happen …
“You just don’t have a choice.”
The NDP leader’s warning comes as the federal Liberals grapple with their summer of disability. There are months of delays for passports and years of waiting at immigration, where some 2.7 million applicants are waiting for their files to be processed. Singh’s own holiday plans have been upended by a passport delay for his seven-month-old daughter.
If the liberals and government bureaucrats can’t get basic — and long-standing — services up and running, how are they going to get a new dental program up and running without it turning into another phoenix, a public-service-system bullshit that destroys the Costing taxpayers billions? unplanned costs and no results delivered?
Everyone in Ottawa recognizes that liberals want to deliver on their promises.
And everyone down to the prime minister knows what’s at stake, a government source involved with the filing said. “We are well aware – on all levels.”
“We are on track to stay on schedule if all goes well,” added this person.
But the “serious government problem with the supply” has lingered on McGrath’s mind since the deal was signed. “I’ve been saying all along (that the biggest concern) was implementation because the government has a problem in that area.”
When Singh worries the Liberals won’t deliver, he puts on a brave face.
“The government is messing up a lot of things,” he notes, but “I’m confident it will happen.”
NDP and Liberal officials are in constant communication, and the New Democrats are urging the government to act, he claims. There are also contingency plans, he says, but declines to elaborate on what those are.
“We knew it was very ambitious to implement (the program) so quickly,” he notes. “We had to work on a very tight schedule. So we weren’t picky about the shipping method. But the result must be that people who qualify must (have access).”
“We can work on improving the deployment mechanism for the second wave,” he adds. “We’re open to how that happens, but it has to happen.”
The Liberals have not yet decided how the dental program will be implemented.
Two weeks ago the government issued a request for information asking industry input on the role they could play in a national dental care programme. Insurance companies have already expressed an interest. (The value of the initial contract is over $99 million for an estimated 300,000 users, although the spring budget has earmarked $5.3 billion over five years to expand to a potential nine million Canadians.)
Ottawa is unlikely to turn to the provinces for help, sources say. If the federal government declines to work with private insurers, it will likely administer the program itself, as it does for federal prisoners and Indigenous Canadians through the Indigenous Services Canada Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program.
It’s a program that Singh believes works reasonably well in general, although he acknowledges that the NIHB’s approval process is “very difficult at times,” that “they don’t respond in a timely manner,” and that “they turn down claims too quickly.” .
Singh has personally done a lot to make this arrangement work. The NDP hopes to prove that it can make a difference, that a vote for the party is not a wasted vote. But if the government doesn’t deliver, Singh’s big bet will blow up, proving the naysayers right.
And give him a reason to walk away.
Althia Raj is an Ottawa-based national politics columnist for the star. Follow her on Twitter: @althiarajSHARE:
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you don’t have a Torstar account yet, you can create one now (it’s free)
log in
to register
Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the Code of Conduct. The star does not support these opinions.
source: https://www.thestar.com/politics/po...l-is-dead-if-no-dental-plan-by-years-end.html