Thank you for your question, Mr. Boulerice.
It's a very interesting agreement. I think we can't understate the importance of the potential of the provisions that are in the confidence and supply agreement between the NDP and the Liberals. Really, we commend the cross-party co-operation that brought this about, and your work as well in the NDP in putting the proposals forward, but it also requires two to tango, as they say [Technical difficulty—Editor] this is moving forward, and from what we're hearing, there has been some good co-operation.
This is what Canadians want. It shows that when we work together, we can get deliverables. Dental care is a critical issue. Pharmacare is as well, as are safe long-term care and investments in the health care crisis. All four of the main health care points are important. It will take three years to make significant advancements on that.
With dental care, half a million children will benefit from this initial benefit that is being proposed for this budget. I am glad the government has done its very best to keep to the timelines. It seems to be satisfactorily meeting the terms of the agreement. I think that is very important. One thing we do know is that dental care is very much related to your overall health. It can help alleviate wait times and the backlog that's in the hospital. It keeps people out of the emergency room.
As well, this benefit is desperately needed when we look at inflation and the costs that are being borne by Canadians. It's going to be another part of the package to help people.
I am a little concerned, though, that there may be people not benefiting from it, because it is a means-tested program. While we know it's important to have this program—this is progress—we do hope that at some point it will be extended to include everyone, maybe not in budget 2023, but certainly the commitments of the Liberals that have led up to now....