Op-Ed: Something's wrong somewhere

There is no more visible sign of inequality in our province than the state of people’s teeth. An economist is not required in order to understand that if you can’t afford to heat your home or feed your family, you probably can’t afford to pay hundreds of dollars in dental fees.

In our province, approximately 200,000 people avoid visiting the dentist because of cost, and 90,000 people cannot get needed dental work because they do not have the money. Children from lower-income families have a significantly higher risk of decay requiring surgery.

Publicly funded, preventive dental cleanings mean children can get the care they need, regardless of whether or not their parents can afford it. Preventive dental treatments for kids are crucial to their overall wellbeing. That’s why it was such a significant improvement, while the NDP was in government, when we reversed the Liberal cuts to the the Children’s Oral Health Program from the 1990s and expanded dental coverage. In 2013, when the Liberals took power, there was a plan on the books to further expand coverage to children and youth -- a plan the McNeil Liberals abandoned.

The Liberals’ track record on children’s teeth is abysmal. They cut funding in the 1990s, then halted plans for expansion five years ago, and now, we learn, they were on the verge of cutting what existing services we have.

In mid-July, the government announced to dentists that polishing and scaling preventive procedures would no longer be covered under the Children’s Oral Health Program. This move, appropriately, sparked outrage and resulted in a quick about-face by the Premier. However, the fact remains: this government came within a public-outrage inch of rolling back services for children’s teeth. It would seem that preventive dental services for children are so far down the list of Liberal priorities, the Premier didn’t even know about the change until it was in the news.

On the same day that the Premier was answering for this proposed change to dental coverage, the annual “Sunshine List” -- a once-a-year report of the salaries of all provincial employees who make more than $100,000, was released. Topping all non-physician employees on the list was Janet Knox, CEO of the Nova Scotia Health Authority, whose salary rose nearly 8 per cent last year to over $350,000.

Something’s wrong somewhere.

Gary Burrill
Leader of the NSNDP
MLA for Halifax Chebucto