October 18, 2023 - The Hill Times published an article by CDHA president Anne Caissie discussing the readiness of dental
hygienists to facilitate greater and more equitable access to oral health care for vulnerable populations and
marginalized communities across the country. Referring to the upcoming release of the Canadian Dental Care Plan, Caissie
says “In order to ensure that oral health care is actually made available to more people in a wider variety of settings,
the plan must take into account the many factors that detrimentally impact an individual’s ability to receive care, such
as income, geographic location, or mobility. The barriers that prevent an individual from accessing oral health care
have been identified time and time again. Now, they must be addressed.”
August 7, 2023 - The Hill Times published an article by CDHA president Anne Caissie discussing the importance
of
preventive oral health in the new federal dental care plan (expected to begin rolling out by 2023). “Getting
this
plan right for Canadians who need it most—like children, people living with disabilities, seniors, and those
living
in low-income households—means that the amount of coverage within the terms of the plan is just as critical
as the
types of services the plan provides,” asserts Caissie.
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.
July 27, 2023 -- CDHA took part in the annual pre-budget consultations process set by the House of Commons
Standing
Committee on Finance. CDHA’s submission discussed priorities for the government’s forthcoming budget,
including the
new Canada Dental Care Plan, oral health care for all residents in long-term care homes, and student loan
forgiveness for dental hygienists to ensure increased access to oral health services in rural and remote
communities.
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.