For immediate release
Feb. 2, 2021 Jim Dinn, the NDP candidate in St. John’s Centre, is applauding his federal affiliates today. MP Jack Harris (St. John’s East) presented a Private Member’s Motion in the House of Commons calling for a federal dental care plan for Canadians families earning less than $90,000 a year who are not already covered with a dental are plan, as an interim measure toward the inclusion of full dental care in Canada’s health care system. “Jack Harris said most eloquently that no one should have to deal with agonizing pain or put their health at risk because they can’t afford a dentist,” Dinn said today. “I can’t begin to tell you how many people in St. John’s Centre in the past two years have told me about the problems they have because they cannot afford dental care. Too many jobs don’t include benefits for workers and their families and too many people are forced to neglect their health.” The provincial NDP last week said a seniors’ dental program cut by the Liberals should be restored as a first step towards making dental care available for more people. A federal program such as the one in MP Harris’s Private Member’s Motion would help thousands of people in this province. “Every political party in Newfoundland and Labrador should be pressuring their federal counterparts to support this bill,” said Dinn. “It’s just the right thing to do to make health care affordable for the people of this province and the country.” -30-