Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux waits to appear before the Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, on Sept. 27. in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux says Ottawa’s proposed dental benefit for children under the age of 12 would cost $703 million over the next three fiscal years.
Giroux released the costing in a new report today after MPs voted Wednesday to send the bill to a committee for study, putting it one step closer to becoming reality.
The benefit would provide up to $650 annually to cover the dental costs for children whose families who don’t already have coverage and earn less than $90,000 per year.
It is a key element of the supply and confidence agreement between the Liberals and the NDP, and is meant to be an interim measure while the government works on a more complete dental-care plan.
The Conservatives are opposing Bill C-31, which includes both the dental benefit and a one-time $500 allowance for low-income renters.
They argue the measures would drive up inflation and offer minimal relief to Canadians.