You know, it's funny. Tonight when we leave these rooms, we will see people sleeping in the streets two blocks from Parliament Hill in the nation's capital. That's been a fixture in this town for as long as I've been a member of Parliament, and it's getting worse, so thank you for those words.
Ms. Love, first of all, thank you and all of Canada's dental hygienists for your contributions to Canadians' health. Dental care, oral health care, is primary health care, and thank you for your work in this.
I have two quick questions. I'd like to get the general reaction of Canada's dental hygienists to the Canadian dental care plan.
Second, what reason, if any, has the government given to you for that 15% discrepancy in fees to independent dental hygienists? I would think that independent dental hygienists, if anything, would have a claim for higher fees because they have overhead, but at least they should be paid equally to hygienists in dental offices.
What has the government told you about that?