Thanks to the Minister for that confirmation. I wanted to make a comment to the loss in this year’s budget of the money for oral health care. It was $468,000, I believe. I know that this was federal money, but I think the Minister heard from the Social Programs committee that this is something which the committee considers to be really important, a basic prevention program for young children. I know that the Minister has said in I think it was in his response to people’s comments that there is a plan for oral health, that we’re studying what we’re doing and we’re going to have a plan sometime within this next year. I do have a problem with that. I think that the $468,000 that we have been using for oral health has been but a drop in the bucket of what we need to do with regard to our young people’s oral health. There was a very telling comment from one of the department staff at a briefing, which stated that, I think… I wish I could remember the percentage, but it was that something like 80 or 85 percent of children under the age of five have at least five cavities. That’s huge, and we know very well that dental health is part of whole body health, and a child with poor dental health is going to be a child in poor health in other areas as well.
Wendy Bisaro on Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on February 21st, 2014. See this statement in context.
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
February 20th, 2014
See context to find out what was said next.