By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
Seniors in Quebec will be able to access dental care through a new federal government plan as early as next year, Compton-Stanstead MP Marie-Claude Bibeau confirmed in an end-of-year interview.
In the months following the policy’s rollout, there had been some speculation about Quebec opting out of the implementation of the federal dental care program to develop its own, but Bibeau said that wouldn’t happen. “The Quebec government wanted to take a cheque from the federal government and we said no — we have decided to roll out this plan coast to coast.”
Bibeau said enrolment letters for seniors 87 and older who have filed their 2022 taxes would start landing in mailboxes before the New Year. Those aged 77 to 86 would receive letters in January. Seniors aged 72-76 should receive letters in February, and those 65-71 should receive letters in spring. Children under 18 and adults with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate will be able to enrol as early as June 2024 and all remaining eligible adults will be able to enrol in 2025. Children under 10 who are eligible for public dental care under the existing Quebec government program will still be eligible.
“There are some things we are still negotiating with Quebec, but we aren’t negotiating the eligibility criteria,” Bibeau said. “The program is still on track to cover all eligible people by 2025.”
In order to enrol in the federal program, people must have an adjusted family net income of less than $90,000 and not have any other source of dental coverage (through private insurance, employer-linked insurance or a pension plan). Those who have not filed their 2022 tax return (or, as of June 2024, their 2023 tax return) will not receive enrolment letters when their age group becomes eligible, although Bibeau emphasized that it is never too late to file.
“It’s important that you file your taxes [to be eligible for the dental plan], because CRA will provide your contact information to Service Canada and Service Canada will provide it to Sun Life [the private company charged with administering the plan],” she said, adding that dental care access won’t be tied to a person’s provincial health card, but to another document.
Bibeau said enrolment letters will walk eligible people through the enrolment process. Although enrolment will primarily take place online, a phone number will be available for seniors and people who lack reliable internet access. People who have trouble signing up, or have not received an enrolment letter on time, can contact their MP’s office.
Bibeau also highlighted measures taken to reduce the impact of the housing crisis on young families and to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses. Businesses that received up to $60,000 in government assistance through the Canadian Emergency Business Account loan program will be able to keep 1/3 of the money received if they reimburse the remaining 2/3 by Jan. 18. “People can wait up to three years to pay if need be, but if they wait that long, they have to reimburse the full amount,” Bibeau clarified. She also plugged a new tax-free savings account program that allows people saving to buy their first home to put away up to $8000 per year in a specific tax-free savings account, advising people interested in taking advantage of that program to contact their bank.
On the local front, she said a contract has been awarded to construction company Pomerleau for extensive renovations to both Sherbrooke armories — the Manège militaire Colonel-Gaétan-Côté (Fusiliers de Sherbrooke) on Rue Belvedère and the William Armoury (Sherbrooke Hussars) and that construction is expected to begin in 2027. “In order to respond to the needs of [the Department of National Defence] you need to anticipate their needs for the next 50 years, so that always takes some time,” she said.