Â鶹ӰÊÓ

Skip to main content

Liberals still support policies promised in deal with NDP, health minister says

Health Minister Mark Holland says his government will still work on policies it promised to pursue under its now-defunct deal with the NDP. An illustration of a tooth is seen on a screen in a dental office as Holland makes an announcement on the Canadian Dental Care Plan in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Health Minister Mark Holland says his government will still work on policies it promised to pursue under its now-defunct deal with the NDP. An illustration of a tooth is seen on a screen in a dental office as Holland makes an announcement on the Canadian Dental Care Plan in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Share

The Liberal government will still work on policies it promised to pursue under its now-defunct deal with the NDP, Health Minister Mark Holland said Monday.

A week ago, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended the pact between the New Democrats and the minority Liberals, before some of the measures they agreed to work on had come to fruition.

Those include a yet-to-be-tabled safe long-term care act and the implementation of a pharmacare bill that is still being studied in the Senate.

If the legislation passes, the government aims to negotiate deals with the provinces for the provision of free diabetes medication and birth control to anyone with a health card. Singh takes credit for forcing the Liberals into it.

"These are things that we deeply cared about, where we found intersection with what the NDP was caring about," Holland said at a news conference in Toronto.

Health Minister Mark Holland says some 600,000 Canadians have taken advantage of the government's dental-care program. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

He was at the University of Toronto's dental faculty, in its largest clinic, to share an update on a signature NDP-Liberal policy, the national dental-care program.

Holland said nearly 650,000 people have taken advantage of the dental-care program so far and four-fifths of dental-care providers are participating. The update comes a month after the minister touted a 75 per cent participation rate.

Uptake was in doubt earlier this summer, when less than half of dentists, hygienists and denturists had registered to offer care and associations warned there were flaws in the program's design.

Holland rejigged the process in July so dental offices could skip registering in advance and process individual claims instead.

The government began taking claims for seniors in May, and has since expanded eligibility for the program to qualifying children under the age of 18 and people who qualify for a disability tax credit.

Now that the New Democrats' support in Parliament is not guaranteed, the Liberals will have to find a partner for each individual vote.

"The NDP has made a political decision and that's theirs to do, but now we're operating on a case-by-case basis," said Holland.

The minister said he talks "all the time" with the Bloc Québécois, along with the NDP, about how they can work together. Talks with the Conservatives haven't been as productive, he said.

The Bloc indicated this week that it is willing to prop up the minority government in exchange for moves it sees as gains for Quebec.

House leader Alain Therrien said in the lead-up to a caucus retreat that his party is happy to regain its balance of power, calling the current situation a "window of opportunity" to pursue its priorities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

Stay Connected