Latest Statements
CDHA applauds the investments in dental care for low-income Canadians. It is essential however, that the new federal dental program recognize the importance of preventive oral care for this vulnerable population. The program must include reimbursement for dental hygiene services covered under the program.
December 1, 2022 – Ondina Love, chief executive officer of the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA), was honoured to join The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, federal minister of health, today for a historic announcement on a momentous day for children’s oral health in Canada.
November 18, 2022 – The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA), today praised Royal Assent for Bill C-31. The new law is the first time in history that the federal government is providing broad based, targeted support to Canadians for dental and dental hygiene care.
September 21, 2022 – After months of hard work, meetings with parliamentarians and senior staff in Health and Finance, the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA), representing the sixth-largest regulated health profession in Canada, was excited at yesterday’s announcement about the Government of Canada’s proposed new legislation (Bill C-31) to deliver targeted supports to Canadians as part of its affordability plan.
September 13 – Wendy Stewart, CDHA’s President has issued the following statement in a response to today’s announcement by Prime Minister Trudeau, that the government is moving forward on dental care by providing direct, tax-free payments to qualifying families who earn $90,000 or less, to pay for dental visits for children under 12, starting December, for a 2-year period, retroactive to October 1, 2022.
August 25, 2022 – While various administration and delivery models are being explored, the current patchwork of provincial and federal systems have long had significant issues. Many programs are inadequate in the scope of preventive services covered, limited in eligibility, and fail to recognize dental hygienists as eligible providers, thus restricting accessibility to oral health care. That’s why it is not enough to expand the status quo within existing provincial dental care programs, which have left millions of Canadians with unmet needs
Media Backgrounder
June 17, 2022 – In a virtual roundtable with select professional association leaders convened by
the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA)
underscored the importance of including preventive oral care services in the federal government’s new dental
care program. During the meeting, Sylvie Martel, CDHA’s director of dental hygiene practice, reiterated that
CDHA’s primary concern remains the need to improve access to preventive and therapeutic oral care for
people across Canada by including dental hygienists among the licensed oral health professionals who are
eligible to provide services under the new program
June 14, 2022 – In a policy paper released today, the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association
(CDHA) is calling on the Government of Canada to commit $2 billion over five years to provincial and territorial
governments to deliver a pan-Canadian oral health program that would give Canadian seniors, wherever they
may live, access to preventive oral care services to help them maintain good oral health and, consequently,
better overall health.
April 13, 2022 – At a news conference in Vancouver, CDHA stressed the importance of essential preventive services provided by dental hygienists for the new federal dental care program. CDHA’s manager of professional practice, Donna Wells, and local BC dental hygienists joined NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh as he highlighted the dental care program his party secured in its supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberal government.
April 8, 2022 – The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA), representing more than
20,000 dental hygienists working across the country, welcomes the federal budget tabled by Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland in the House of Commons on April 7. The federal budget
includes funding of $5.3 billion over five years, starting in 2022—2023, and $1.7 billion ongoing, to Health
Canada to provide dental care for Canadians. The federal government’s plan starts with under-12-year-olds in
2022, and then expands to under-18-year-olds, seniors, and persons living with a disability in 2023, with full
implementation by 2025.
March 22, 2022 – The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA) applauds today’s announcement by the Prime Minister of an agreement reached between the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party that prioritizes a new oral health care program for lowincome Canadians, including seniors.
Related Government Submissions
October 7, 2022 - CDHA’s spending priorities for the 2023 federal budget include the development of a comprehensive long-term national dental care program, the inclusion of oral health in the development of national standards for Canada’s long-term care homes and the expansion of student loan forgiveness for dental hygienists.
June 30, 2022 – In Canada, registered dental hygienists are in a prime position, as essential oral health care
providers, to prevent and treat oral conditions and diseases in children by providing
individualized and accessible preventive and therapeutic oral care services and treatments.
April 14, 2022 – Oral health is essential overall health. In Canada, registered dental hygienists are in a prime
position, as regulated health care professionals, to prevent and treat oral diseases through
evidence-informed practice, oral health promotion, and fostering their clients’ informed
decision making related to oral health.