Mr. Speaker, Budget 2022 proposed funding of $5.3 billion over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $1.7 billion ongoing for a national dental care program for Canadians who earn under $90,000. The interim Canada Dental Benefit is the first stage of the Government’s plan to improve dental care for Canadians in families with an adjusted net income under $90,000. It is estimated that over 500,000 Canadian children could benefit from the targeted investment of $938 million. While this temporary program is in place, work is underway in parallel to develop a planned national dental care program.
While Health Canada has estimated the number of children who will benefit at 500,000, this is an estimate and the costing includes a buffer in case the actual number of eligible parents applying is higher than anticipated.