With clock ticking, future of Liberals’ dental and pharmacare programs uncertain – CBC

Majority of dental plan still not in place, no deals reached for drug coverage

Jan 14, 2025

With a federal election potentially just months away, the future of two of the Liberal government’s landmark social programs — dental and pharmacare — is unclear.

Two-thirds of the Canadians set to be covered under the new national dental insurance program are still not eligible. The federal government has also yet to sign a single deal with provinces and territories enabling Ottawa to pay for contraceptive and diabetes medications.

“Nothing is guaranteed. We’re in a volatile circumstance,” federal Health Minister Mark Holland acknowledged last week.

“I will be relentless in making sure that we finish,” he said. “I don’t think we need a lot of time to do it. We need a little bit more.”

But time is running out for Holland to see the two programs through, with the three major opposition parties vowing to bring down the Liberal government with a confidence vote as early as March, triggering a federal election.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/future-of-dental-pharmacare-expansion-liberal-government-1.7430667