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.”
