Alberta Premier Danielle Smith recently announced that the province plans to opt out of the federal dental care plan by 2026.
The reason behind this decision is that the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) is essentially a duplicate of the coverage already available in Alberta. She still wants to negotiate for the province’s share of the funding, reported CBC, and then the province can use it as they see fit to expand the dental coverage.
“We have one of the best dental coverage plans in the country,” said Smith. “I don’t think there’s any point in having a parallel program, and they should have consulted with us, quite frankly.”
This announcement has caused quite a stir and Health Minister Mark Holland is disappointed.
“It seems to be trolling for conflict, and I don’t think that’s helpful,” he said on CBC‘s Power and Politics.
