Healthcare, Pharmacare and Dental Care

NDP Media Release: NDP reaction to Carney's new NATO defence spending pledge

NDP Media Release 25.6.2025

NDP reaction to Carney's new NATO defence spending pledge 

In reaction to Mark Carney's new NATO defence spending pledge to hit 5 per cent of GDP by 2035, NDP critic for Defence Heather McPherson issued the following statement:   

“Increasing defence spending to 5 per cent was never part of Mark Carney’s election campaign – which ended less than two months ago. This was not part of the mandate he received from Canadians.

Carney's new pledge would cost Canadians more than $100 billion per year. That’s twice the amount the federal government transfers to the provinces and territories for healthcare. At a time when Canadians urgently need investments in healthcare, affordable housing, and climate change mitigation, they should be worried about what services they may lose to make up this extraordinary and unexpected cost.
 
Right now, workers are losing their jobs because of Trump’s reckless trade war, and this Liberal government is telling them it can’t provide proper support. That's not what Carney promised on the campaign trail.

New Democrats recognize that Canadian Armed Forces personnel and infrastructure were underfunded by successive Liberal and Conservative governments, and there is a need to increase investment in these services. And the growing threats to Canadian sovereignty and security are real. But these threats are not only military, and defence spending is not the only solution – that’s why the Liberals should be reversing their cuts to conflict prevention, peacebuilding and international development.

While this Liberal government emphasizes Arctic security and sovereignty, there is an excessive focus on security. Northerners continue to face barriers to fully participating in Arctic sovereignty, which in turn limits their engagement in Arctic security. That’s why greater investment in Arctic sovereignty is essential—including funding for housing, schools, airports, and marine ports. These investments will empower Northerners to contribute meaningfully to the region’s security and future.

Canadians deserve a government that puts their needs first. When the Liberal government says it has billions for weapons but not enough for affordable housing or healthcare, it means more people will fall through the cracks.
 
New Democrats will fight every day so that you and your family aren’t left behind.”

HANSARD: If government caps spending and increase military spending, will this lead to cuts in services for vulnerable Canadians?

Mailer: Dental Care Updates

Over 2.7 million people have applied for the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) and over 1 million people have accessed affordable oral health care.

Effective July 8, 2024, oral health providers are able to bill CDCP without formally registering with the program.

There are now over 20,500 oral health providers using the CDCP, an astounding 82% of active providers in Canada. Sample questions to ask your oral health providers about the CDCP are listed inside this pamphlet.

If you are eligible for the CDCP, but have run into issues with your application, please contact my office for assistance.

The phased roll out will continue as follows:

Eligibility is extended to adults with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate and children under the age of 18 as of June 27, 2024.

All remaining eligible residents will be able to apply in 2025.

Services requiring preapproval will be available starting in November 2024. This includes restorative services, such as crowns.

HANSARD: Oval Question on Abortion Health Care

HANSARD: With $36B planned spending reductions in 2011 what services were impacted by the spending reduction

HESA#113: On Women's Health

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC
NDP

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of the witnesses for sharing your expertise with this committee.

I'm particularly interested in what work you think can be done and what the government should do, particularly in looking at the issues through the lens of under-represented communities, for example, in the racialized community, the LGBTQ2+ community and, I would even venture as far as to say, for seniors, who are often put on the back burner, especially as they age. What are some of the health concerns, both on the research side, as well as on the side of actually providing real supports?

That is to all of the presenters, please.

 

Dr. Pamela Valentine
President and CEO, MS Canada

I'll jump in. I don't know if anybody else will make the same comment.

We have a real problem with information and data in this country. I sit as the CEO for MS Canada, and I cannot answer what the diversity of our population living with MS in this country looks like. I can give gender—it's fantastic to know that there are three times as many women as there are men—but after that, it's really difficult to answer those questions.

To get data in this country that crosses provincial borders is exceptionally difficult. That will not be a surprise to you. That definitely costs us more time, money and energy to get the solutions that we have today, as Ruth Ann has suggested, into the hands of the people who are going to put that information to work.

It's a very real barrier for us.

HANSARD: Why Conservatives constantly want to roadblock programs Canadians desperately need?

Mailer: Canadian Dental Care

HANSARD: Important to ensure that all families have access to resources to properly support them through difficult times?

HANSARD: Will the Liberals finally support the NDP's plan for universal pharmacare to help Canadians make ends meet?