Health Minister Mark Holland is accusing the Conservatives of trying to "sabotage" the government's dental care program by calling up dental associations and "bullying" them — accusations the Tories are calling "unhinged." The Liberals began covering dental care services for seniors last month as part of a new federal dental care program. As the government has slowly expanded eligibility for the program over the last few months, it also has made tweaks to the program in an effort to get more dentists on board.
So far, more than 40 per cent of dental-health care providers have signed on to the program, Holland said at a news conference Tuesday. WATCH: Holland says Conservatives trying to 'sabotage' federal dental care program Health minister says Conservatives trying to 'sabotage' dental care program 3 hours ago Duration 1:17 Health Minister Mark Holland accuses the Conservatives of calling dental associations and 'bullying' them, saying they don't want to the program to succeed. Still, the Canadian Dental Association and provincial associations have raised concerns, saying patients don't always know they will have to pay out of pocket for some services that aren't fully covered by the government program.
Holland said he's worked with the associations to improve the program each time they've raised an issue, but now it's time to "move on." "I'm in a frustrated position now where I don't really understand what their issue is," he told reporters. He said the associations are ".