P.E.I. premier wants Ottawa to partner with province on dental, school food programs

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King wants the federal government to partner with the province on recently announced national programs, to avoid what he called inefficient overlaps with similar initiatives in this province.

On Friday, the premier said there are already similar provincial programs, such as P.E.I.'s universal school food program. He also singled out Ottawa's national dental program for seniors for criticism.

During question period in the legislature on Friday, the premier's fellow Progressive Conservative MLA Brad Trivers asked if new federal initiatives risk duplicating the province's own programs.

King replied that he sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requesting a federal-provincial partnership on some of the measures, specifically P.E.I.'s pay-what-you-can School Food Program, which launched in 2020.

The P.E.I. government projects that its school lunch program will have served over 800,000 meals during the current school year. (Steve Bruce/CBC)

"I am writing to you today to propose that your government immediately engage in conversations with our officials," King wrote to Trudeau, "to explore the opportunity to expand the program … and explore a partnership to expand our offering to include a universal school breakfast program.

"The demand for the program has increased since inception, highlighting the need for children to access a healthy school lunch."

The Trudeau government's $1-billion national school food program, announced in advance of next week's federal budget, is mandated to deliver meals to 400,000 children a year.

The Coalition for Healthy School Food says about two million Canadian children are already participating in such initiatives at school. The additional 400,000 children to benefit attend the roughly 1,000 schools on wait lists for a food program.

Where jurisdictions already have their own such initiatives, the coalition hopes Ottawa will transfer them funds, so "it's not a new bureaucracy, it just flows directly."

Still, the Trudeau government's April 1 announcement was scant on details. Child nutrition advocates say they are looking to next Tuesday's federal budget to contain more details about the program's expansion.

Dental program 'far too cumbersome to navigate'

P.E.I.'s premier also raised criticisms Friday about the rollout of another national program, dental care for seniors, which King called "an unmitigated disaster."

He said he spoke with federal Health Minister Mark Holland, asking the feds to work with the province's existing dental program to avoid inefficiencies.

"The dentists have said quite vocally that the program is far too cumbersome to navigate," King said on Friday. "Individuals are showing up to get access to dental care — only to find out that the program isn't set up yet, and they're not going to be covered for the cost."

The premier said the "best way" to improve the federal initiative "would be to piggyback on the current program that we have, which dentists seem to like."

King called P.E.I.'s own dental coverage "efficient" and paying dentists "at a level that's more adequate" that what Ottawa is offering.

Premier Dennis King called the rollout of Ottawa's national dental program for seniors 'an unmitigated disaster.' (Brian Morris/CBC)

P.E.I. dentists have expressed frustration and confusion over the Canadian Dental Care Plan, announced late last year, with some dental clinics turning away from the program.

According the Dental Association of P.E.I., in an internal survey of its members, nearly 90 per cent of the 36 dentists who responded — representing about half of its members — said they would not sign up for the program.

Seniors with household incomes above $90,000 a year are not eligible. For seniors with incomes between $70,000 and $90,000, patients must pay a portion of the costs of dental care.

Typically, insurance companies pay a percentage of what's listed in provincial fee guides. That doesn't seem to have happened with the federal program: many of the fees are close to 90 per cent of what dentists charge.

As for why these federal announcements seem to overlap with existing P.E.I. programs, King said he suspects it may come down to politics — and polling.

"It would be disingenuous of anyone to think that there aren't some politics at play here," he said. "I don't care so much about [getting] the credit here.

"I think if we can serve Islanders, and give them the access to the programs that they need. That's what we all should be doing as government."