Killing the Fillings
Today, I’m going to drill into the letter Premier Smith sent the Prime Minister, signaling that Alberta would like to opt out of the federal dental care program. We’ll root out some decay in the popular understanding of the Canadian constitution, and fill that cavity of knowledge with an amalgam of …
OK, I’ll stop now.
But seriously, here’s all you really need to know about this letter. The Premier is directing her people to negotiate with the federal government so that Alberta can opt out of the program by 2026. And I’m here to tell you that there’s a good chance there won’t be a federal dental care program by 2026.
It’s pretty clear that, by 2025, the federal government is going to be under new management. And once Poilievre is done Ax(ing) the Tax, and Fighting the Crime, I think it’s fair to say he’s going to turn his mind to Killing the Fillings and … [oh crap! nothing rhymes with pharmacare.]
The Trudeau government has made generous use of the federal spending power, and has designed a bunch of programs in areas of provincial jurisdiction. There’s child care (via agreements with provincial governments), dental care and sort-of pharmacare. The federal Conservatives haven’t said they’re going to end these programs. But it’s safe to assume that a Poilievre majority government will wait about three days after the election before announcing that they’ve taken a look at the federal government’s books, things are worse than they thought, and belts will need to be tightened. If Poilievre is looking for a way to back out of these programs, he might well assemble the provincial premiers and offer to cancel these programs and transfer some tax points to the provinces. That would allow provincial governments to decide whether they want to spend the money on kids, teeth and contraceptives, or something else entirely.
Anticipating the comments, I’ll put it out there that I’m a fan of publicly funded child care, dental care and pharmacare. I don’t relish the idea that they won’t outlast the Trudeau government. But there’s a lesson here about developing policies that endure: they take more consultation and planning than the Trudeau government has been willing or able to muster up.
In any event, I wouldn’t grind my teeth about Smith’s letter to Trudeau. Either the program will be cancelled altogether or the federal government will have the wisdom to find a way for Albertans to be included.
Well that bites.
As usual right on the mark Lisa, though Poilievre waiting 3 days might be a stretch. Most Canadians don't seem to know what is on Poilieve's chopping block. What's not are higher business taxes and higher high income taxes, retaining the insignificant capital gains tax. Any and every social program will be looked at including health care and even education. Poilievre is still stuck in a neoliberal free market, privatized everything world, the one that has failed every country in the world over 40 years. Trickle down has evolved in high pressure pump up. If u think inequality is rising , look forward to 4 or 5 years of Canadian inequality rate doubling. As I read comments about the the high Canadian debt, and naming Trudeau and the Liberals, the look back at Progressive Conservative PM Mulroney and Conservative PM Harper they both increased national debt significantly.
I suppose during COVID19 Trudeau should have ignored bankruptcies, lack of income to pay rent and opened up the economy to no lock downs so the virus would quadruple the deaths but keep people working.