By Sebastian Kanally, Times Chronicle
As of Dec. 1, eligible families earning less than $90,000 per year can apply for some financial relief for their children’s dental costs. The plan will support an estimated 500,000 children under the age of 12.
Bill C-31, the Cost of Living Relief Act, passed on Nov. 17, provides a tax-free payment of $260, $390, or $650 depending on your adjusted family income.
The payment is applied for and provided through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The benefit is only available for two periods, and therefore there is a maximum of two payments per eligible child. The first benefit period is for children under 12 years of age as of Dec. 1, 2022 who receive dental care between Oct. 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.
This benefit comes as a result of heavy pressure from Jagmeet Singh, leader of the federal NDP, who threatened to pull support from the current coalition government, which keeps the Trudeau Liberals in power till 2025, if a plan for Dental care and Pharmacare were not agreed on.
Singh released a statement saying “I’m incredibly proud that the NDP used our power in parliament to deliver dental care for kids. But I’m celebrating by immediately focusing on the next step in the NDP’s plan – dental care coverage for seniors, people with disabilities and everyone under 18. We’re going to keep fighting to make sure it happens in 2023.”
This intended program the NDP are after would gradually extend benefits to children under 18, seniors and people with disabilities by the end of 2023, and apply to all members of eligible families by 2025. But this full Canada Dental program has yet to be agreed upon.
On June 16, earlier this year the Federal Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, published a budget plan for implementing such a dental care plan for all Canadians making under $90,000 by 2025. Writing that “the PBO estimates that this program will cost $9,036 million over a 5 fiscal year period.”
