TORONTO – On Monday, Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh joined by NDP MP Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre) and NDP candidate Clare Hacksel (Toronto-Danforth) is speaking about the implementation of the NDP national dental care program.
A few days after Pierre Poilievre’s cut-and-gut Conservatives voted to cut funding for services Canadians rely on – including dental care – the NDP is delivering results that will make life easier and more affordable for Canadians.
“No matter how hard it is to pay the bills, people shouldn’t be forced to neglect their dental health because of high costs,” said Singh. “That’s why, for years, the NDP has been fighting to provide dental care for everyone who needs it. Trudeau’s out-of-touch Liberals and Poilievre’s cut-and-gut Conservatives teamed up twice to vote against giving Canadians dental care. But we didn’t give up on getting you the help you deserve. While Pierre Poilievre is trying to make your life harder by voting to cut services you need, the NDP is delivering dental care for millions of Canadians.”
Over a third of Canadians have no dental insurance, and nearly 9 million Canadians avoid the dentist every year because they can’t afford it. The NDP started delivering dental care with the interim dental benefit that gave 370,000 families with children under 12 up to $1,300.
Today’s national program will start by covering 4.5 million seniors, people with disabilities, and children under 18 who don’t have private insurance and make under $90,000. By end of 2025, it is estimated that 9 million eligible Canadians could benefit from this program. An average family could save around $1,300 per year.
“All of this happened despite Pierre Poilievre using every tool he had to try to stop Canadians from getting dental care. Even though he's had access to dental care himself – paid for by Canadian taxpayers – for 20 years,” said Singh. “Getting more Canadians to the dentist, free of charge, will save families around $1300 and keep everyone healthier. With the NDP, you pay less and get more.”
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June 12th, 2024
NDP: A National Brain Injury Strategy will shine light on “invisible epidemic”
OTTAWA— On Wednesday, with a vote of 324 in favour and zero against, NDP MP Alistair MacGregor’s plan to create a national strategy for prevention, treatment, and awareness of brain injuries passed unanimously at second reading in Parliament.
“This is an important step forward for an initiative that started locally,” MP MacGregor said, “This work came about because of the passion and lived experience of several of my constituents, and I am so proud and grateful for their work. I especially want to thank Janelle Breese Biagioni from the CGB Centre for Traumatic Life Losses, Chris Rafuse from the Cowichan Brain Injury Society, and local advocate and brain injury survivor Kyle Mockford, among many others. Working together with community groups across Canada, Bill C-277 has become a national campaign for greater awareness, prevention, and treatment of brain injuries.”
Experts say that many who experience traumatic brain injuries go undiagnosed and untreated because of stigma and lack of awareness. Even if they receive treatment, the current state of brain injury services and supports across the country is characterized by fragmentation, isolation, and chronic underfunding. Often, support services for families and brain-injury survivors operate as non-profit organizations with little or no government funding. Some of these organizations are teetering on the brink of closure.
“Well over 1.5 million Canadians have suffered a traumatic brain injury, and the long-term effects can be devastating,” said MacGregor. “Among them are an estimated 1 in 8 Canadian women, who have experienced a traumatic brain injury because of gender-based violence. I’m happy to see a national brain injury strategy get support across party lines.”
Bill C-277 has been endorsed by medical experts, people with lived experience, Brain Injury organizations across the country, and local municipalities including Duncan, Langford, North Cowichan, Nanaimo, and the City of Victoria.
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