Top Trudeau minister on Toronto byelection loss, Alberta’s objections to dental plan

the federal government’s shiny new dental care plan is causing some teeth nashing in Alberta The Province says it wants out of the months-old program Premier Daniel Smith wrote this letter to Ottawa saying in part Alberta began offering Dental Programs in 1973 and since that time has developed the expertise to successfully design Implement and maintain these much needed programs she added the new Canadian Dental Care program unnecessarily replicates this coverage from many albertans she went on to say that Alberta is seeking to negotiate an agreement for the province’s share of federal Dental funding and will use this unconditional funding to expand dental coverage to more lowincome albertans so how will the government here in otta respond we spoke to federal health Minister Mark Holland earlier today minister welcome back to Power Play thanks so much for taking the time thanks for having me by I wanted to start with that letter by Premier Smith she called the additional Federal dental plan complex and confusing because it overlaps with the provincial program do you agree with her on that no uh there’s nothing confusing about it uh the reality is over 200,000 seniors have already gotten care uh I’m talking to providers who are using it it’s easier than any provincial plan they’ve ever encountered easier than than frankly private insurance uh just plainly spoken it’s working uh we have over 40% of providers across the country signed up almost every denturist is sent signed up almost every hygienist uh so it’s been a huge success and you know I I get politics is desired to be played on some of this stuff but look albertans are getting care that’s extremely important Canadians are from coast to coast and we’re not going to let anything get in the way of that I know you’re saying it it’s about Pauls Politics as well but what happens if other provinces decide like Alberta that they want to opt out will you be able to negotiate with them or are you open to that kind of negotiation well first of all there’s no opting out uh the service is already flowing uh We’re working directly with providers to make sure that Canadians get dental care uh if a province wants to transition to managing the program itself uh I don’t have a problem with that we as a government don’t but I mean there would be a few really important conditions first uh that the quality of care be at least as good as the federal program and secondly we’re not going to transfer them more money to administer the program than we’re already spending uh and third we would need an assurance uh that on an ongoing basis uh that there was those quality commitments and uh adjusting to the price of inflation on a go forward basis would be respected uh ultimately this is about care for us this is about making sure that uh the 9 million Canadians who don’t have dental coverage get it uh you know to put it in contrast Mike I was at Del Housey University talking with um you know the uh the various folks who were involved a guy named Ryland who’s a third-year student talking about somebody with an absess in his mouth bouncing around looking for care not being able to get it this poor person used gasoline in their mouth to try to dull the pain because they couldn’t get dental care we don’t want to live in that kind of country we need to make sure that people who need care get care uh and that’s what we’re about here but are you prepared to negotiate 10 separate deals with the different provinces if Alberta decides that yes they wanted uh manage it on their own are you prepared to do that and what does that say about your your federal plan if a number of provinces decide to follow suit in that way well first of all the the care is not going to stop so I mean on the first order everybody uh who is getting care should know that that will continue uh we don’t need uh the provinces um uh to say yes or no we’re already delivering these these these programs working I I understand that Minister but with respect if Danielle Smith is saying that she doesn’t want to follow it because it continues to overlap in her words with the care that’s already provided well then it doesn’t seem like it is really working out the way that you intended it to well with all due respect they didn’t offer Dental Care like Daniel Smith didn’t offer Dental Care to un insured people so you know to saying that it uh that you know these folks um don’t have care uh and that getting that making it about jurisdiction and politics I think is just getting it backwards and wrong like we should be happy there are all kinds of people right now who are getting care who didn’t before seniors who are getting dentures in their mouth one lady 41 years without a new pair of Dentures she was down to plastic plates in her mouth where she was crushing food they’re not interested in jurisdiction they’re interested in getting care and so of course absolutely we’re want to work with provinces uh and if they want to transition to their own plan what I’m hearing from providers is they they uh that they want assurances that those plans are going to be at least as good as the federal plan and if the only reason that they want to move to it is because there’s some politics in it they’re going to have to explain to their constituents why they’re putting that ahead of care um so you know absolutely we’re willing to have the conversations but that is uh not something that’s going to get in the way of care it’s not going to be something that stops us from delivering this program we’re delivering it today more than 200,000 seniors as I’ve said tomorrow we’re expanding it to those who are 18 and under and people persons with disabilities so we’re moving ahead with this plan across the country uh and we hope the provinces uh uh you know are going to uh uh decide either to continue to let us deliver the program or if they want to administer it themselves then of course we’ll AB absolutely happy to have that conversation um but you know I’ve set out the requirements that that would uh that that would take and secondly say that that’s not going to interrupt service Minister it has been two days since that byelection in Toronto St Paul’s yesterday on this program Minister Karina Gould said that the party has to regroup what does that look like in your mind well what it looks like is uh delivering dental care what it looks like is delivering pharmacare uh what it looks like is putting the interests of the nation first uh and focused squarely on serving uh we had an election uh we are a government that was eled to um serve Canadians and that’s what we have to do uh in 16 months time uh we’ll go to the polls I was elected in 2004 uh I’ve gone through a lot of B byelections and you know and there’s a lot of te te uh you know reading of tea leaps every time and I get that the fixation on the horse race or what this might pretend for that but the world that we’re in one week is an eternity who knows what things are going to be in 16 months and I don’t think that’s what Canadians want us focused on but Minister minister with respect has been a liberal stronghold for three decades this is not just any writing well Carolyn Bennett is an extraordinary representative she served for almost that entire time uh and you know she is a formidable force in politics there is no such thing as a guaranteed writing in this country and nor should there be you have to earn people’s vote uh and you have to do that and the byelections have all kinds of complicated Dynamics and again I you know I’ve gone through all kinds of these byelections and people say that it pretends this or that I think that what we need to do is govern that’s what we were elected to do get things done deliver results that’s where we have to stay focused I don’t think Canadians I think there are some people who are interested in you know the horse race and te te te reading the tea leaves but you know the people that I’m talking to are worried about whether or not they’re going to get dental care and we’re going to make sure they do diabetes per patients worried about whether or not they’re going to get the medications they need we’re going to make sure that happens women making sure they have access to contraceptives that’s what we’re going to do and I think that’s what Canadians want government focused on look the conservatives are going to continue to focus on Googling what’s wrong in the world and parting it uh you know a 10-year-old could do that I think we’re in a time when people need Solutions and action and actually doing things instead of just complaining and saying what’s wrong in the country uh and there will be a time 16 months from now where we have an election and I think the way we should be evaluated fairly is how much we focused on the people that we served and how well we did our job and that’s what we’re in the middle of doing but Minister you were saying that Canadians care about dental care and pharmacare in that writing though one of the reasons one of the main reasons a lot of people pointed to uh for why they voted they said that prime minister Justin Trudeau shouldn’t stay on as leader do you think he should stay on as leader absolutely I think the prime minister is a person of extraordinary Integrity uh who has carried this nation through some incredibly difficult times uh watching him on a day in day out basis whether or not what he did through the pandemic or what he’s done uh standing up in a world of of tumult and difficulty um he is an extraordinary leader that our country is deeply lucky to have and I think it’s very easy to look at somebody who’s stepping up and trying to make the country a better place and find reasons to criticize but somebody who has dedicated his entire life to trying to make this country a better place I’m deeply proud to serve alongside him and I’m very excited to run alongside him in the next election but how concerned are you that more voters are not thinking the way that you are actually the majority in polls are showing um that they think that your party would be better off without Justin Trudeau at the helm well look the day before I was nominated in 2004 people said why are you running there’re going to be 250 liberals elected under Paul Martin you’re going to be one of a countless number of MPS there’s no point in going the day after my nomination uh the news cycle changed polls changed and people said why are you running your can’t get elected uh you know I in 20 years of politics I’ve learned people like to pretend they know what’s happening they have no idea no one has any idea what’s happening a week from now I think we spend entirely too much time prognosticating about things we have no knowledge of we have issues today now we have a world in turmoil we have conflict happening in various parts of the world we have uh global winds that Canada is actually doing exceptionally well in This Global turmoil and maintaining stability and having a remark able economic story I think we should be talking about problems that exist here today taking time to talk about what the solutions are today rather than you know playing an imaginary game of what might happen in 16 months I have no idea you know you take 16 months before the pandemic none of us had any idea what was going to happen there like why are we spending so much time and energy talking about hypotheticals I think we should be talking about what’s happening here today and what’s happening here today is that we have people with very serious needs in our health system and I’m doing absolutely everything that I can and so is our government to meet those needs here and now and that’s where our attention should be focused because you know focusing on what might happen and all kinds of different hypotheticals who knows about those things yeah Minister over 20 years I’ve learned that that those aren’t a good way to spend your energy and time uh that is that it may be fun as as sort of a political sport but that’s not where people on the street are worried about that’s not what they’re thinking but Minister it’s not hypothetical what what happened in Toronto St Paul’s is not a hypothetical what’s not a hypothetical is the polls that are continuing to point to Justin trudo being unpopular as your leader those are not hypotheticals well show me who’s popular right now I mean who in this world right now is popular like this is a incredibly difficult difficult time to put up your hand and take responsibility and try to make things better it is a difficult bit of business to stand up and try to make positive change so yes I think that’s a very fair comment to say that people are finding it difficult now I am with them and I think there’s two ways to react to difficult times there’s to hold a mirror to what’s difficult and push into people’s pain and make them feel worse or to say put up your hand and say okay I think I’ve got Solutions I’m going to go in and I’m going to try to make things better I’m gonna lift up I’m gonna do and that’s what I’m talking about and so you know I I I spent time knocking St Paul’s I certainly spend time across the country and here in wior right now hearing to people’s frustrations but I don’t hear them talking about who up or down in the polls I hear them talking about worried about the world they live in worried about climate change worried about global turmoil worrying about Canada maintaining a strength of its position uh and wanting to hear Solutions and so that’s what we’re focused on and you know in 16 months time there’ll be an opportunity to evaluate that but you know from my position you know having been around since 2004 um you know I have seen over the last nine years a prime minister who has leaned in into extremely difficult times uh and stood up uh and and and done everything in his power to try to make things better for our country and I would ask the question who would we trade our position with what country would we want to be instead of Canada who’s doing better than Canada in these hard times it’s hard for every human being on this earth right now and we have to do everything we can to make it better for every person that we can but just leaning into problems and pushing into what’s wrong you know it’s a cheap way to get attention but what does it actually fix who does it actually help and that’s what we’re focused on on helping people

Health Minister Mark Holland discusses the federal dental care plan, the new objections from Alta. Premier Danielle Smith and the party’s shocking loss in a Toronto byelection.

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