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.”
I want to bring to your attention an important e-petition I sponsored in support of recreational fishing in Port Renfrew. It was initiated by Chris Tucker, President of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, and it was published on April 10th. It is open for signatures until May 10th.
Closures by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), without notices, threaten over 100 small businesses and the livelihoods of the owners and employees who run them. DFO has failed to provide credible data to justify the closures, leaving the local economies of many communities severely impacted.
E-petition e-4919 advocates for a shift away from arbitrary and punitive regulations imposed by DFO, moving instead to evidence-based policies that protect the economic stability of small coastal communities like Port Renfrew.
I have been a supporting the recreational fishing community and bringing their concerns to Ottawa for many years. In 2021, a cross-party representation of BC MPs and I wrote a letter to previous Minister Jordan in support of marked selective Chinook fishery opportunities that DFO is considering for the Pacific region. In 2023 and 2024 NDP MP Lisa Marie Barron and I wrote to Ministers Murray and Lebouthillier regarding the closing of Tidal Area 20 in efforts to protect the Southern Resident Killer Whale and wild pacific salmon.
Together, with your support and advocacy, we have a chance, through e-petition 4919, to tell the Government of Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that protecting our recreational fishing in Port Renfrew should be a key goal. I hope you’ll join me in signing and sharing this petition.
My colleague MP Lisa-Marie Barron and I wrote to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Minister on behalf of several Vancouver Island coastal communities, including Port Renfrew, regarding protection efforts for vital species such as the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) and wild pacific salmon and the closure of Tidal Area 20 by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). Those out on the water have firsthand knowledge of the marine ecosystems that surround Vancouver Island, yet they are largely being left out in DFO`s decision-making process.
This potential closure will have detrimental impacts to many who rely on sport fishing for their livelihoods, yet the Sport Fishing Advisory Committee has not been meaningfully consulted causing unnecessary strain on Sport Fishers and costal communities. Again, the protection of the Southern Residential Killer Whale and wild pacific salmon is of upmost importance to everyone involved. And those on the water have local knowledge necessary in developing effective solutions.
You can read the full letter here
Victoria – Abbotsford resident Shirley Wilson is starting the new year on a journey without her son, Jacob. Jacob suffered a traumatic brain injury that eventually led to his death by toxic drug poisoning in 2021.
Shirley Wilson is now part of a growing grassroots movement committed to enhancing care and supports for brain injury patients and their families.
“Coordinated brain injury care and supports are desperately needed, and a national strategy is necessary," says Shirley.
