DENTAL DAY — Raisins are terribly unhealthy, cavity-producing time bombs for the kids who snack on them. That's part of the message LYNN TOMKINS, the president of the Canadian Dental Association, will send to the House health committee at 11 a.m. Tomkins' point is the same one you've heard from every dentist who's ever poked around your mouth: brush your teeth twice a day, kids. And floss. Develop good habits early, and kids can avoid a lot of toothaches. Tomkins wants as many kids as possible to have regular check-ups — and for youngsters who can't afford treatment to get a little help from their friendly federal government. The CDA calls the nascent dentalcare program a "game-changer" for healthy teeth. — High stakes: Tomkins' top priority could decide the fate of this Parliament. The federal dentalcare program outlined in a confidence-and-supply deal with the NDP will be implemented in several phases, and each step along the way until full implementation in 2025 (note: that’s roughly seven cleanings) offers the NDP an opportunity to pull the plug. At this point the New Democrats are claiming victory. JAGMEET SINGH will boast of his party's pressure on the government at a noontime appearance in front of cameras. Enter Tomkins, who will testify at the health committee in the middle of a study on children's health. But the elephant in the room is obvious. The committee is meeting two days after the government tabled legislation to implement the program's first phase. It's gonna come up. The proposed law would create a two-year annual benefit worth between C$260 and C$600 for uninsured kids who qualify, depending on their household income. Tories will vote against the measure, arguing it'll only pad families' pockets with inflationary cash. In theory, it's a simple process. Parents will log on to a Canada Revenue Agency portal, check a few boxes and receive the cash payment in a matter of days if they qualify. (Keep your receipts, parents. The CRA might come calling.) But this is Canada, where nothing about health-care funding is simple. — The devil's in the details: Many provinces already provide limited dental coverage — but not for every procedure. What happens when parents can’t afford the care their kids require?. Will the federal benefit cover the difference? Tomkins isn't sure. "That's really for the CRA to figure out," she tells Playbook. But Tomkins does want to avoid one uncomfortable situation. "We don't want dentists to have to be determining who's eligible and who's not on the spot," she says. That would place an administrative burden on already understaffed offices, and could mean dentists turning away patients who need care. — Headaches for the CRA: JENNIFER ROBSON , director of the political management program at Carleton University, spotted red flags that could make life difficult for hapless CRA employees who need to verify kids are definitively uninsured. Robson's read is bureaucrats will be forced to get in the weeds on fraught family matters — say, sorting out which parent in a shared-custody agreement is responsible for a trip to the dentist. Not really what the taxman is trained for. Robson's conclusion: "The wrong lesson to take away from the pandemic benefits is that CRA is ready, willing and able to be a social worker to modest and middle-income Canadians," she told Playbook. — Back to the committee room: Tomkins plans to focus her testimony on policy, not politics. "I'm going to talk about what I know. That's dentistry, oral health, children, dental care," she tells Playbook. "The politics is up to the politicians."
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