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CDA
at
W
ork
Volume 3 Issue 5
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11
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Members of the CDA del-
egation on Parliament Hill.
(L. to r.) Dr. Thomas Raddall,
chair of CDA’s advocacy
committee, Dr. Larry Levin,
CDA president-elect,
Dr. Randall Croutze, CDA
president, and Kevin
Desjardins, director of CDA
public affairs.
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CDA delegates discussed
the oral health of Syrian
refugees with Jenny Kwan,
vice-chair of the House
of Commons Standing
Committee on Citizenship
and Immigration and NDP
MP for Vancouver East.
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Members of the CDA del
egation with the Honorable
Wayne Easter (l.), chair of
the House of Commons
Finance Committee and
Liberal MP for Malpeque.
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Drs. Croutze and Levin
met with Kamal Khera (c.),
parliamentary secretary to
the Minister of Health and
Liberal MP for Brampton
West.
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Dr. Lynn Tomkins, CDA
Board member from
Ontario, with David Tilson,
vice-chair of the House
of Commons Standing
Committee on Citizenship
and Immigration and
Conservative MP for
Dufferin-Caledon.
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Dr. David Zaparinuk
discussed sugar reduction
initiatives with Senator
Nancy Greene Raine, an
Olympic medalist in alpine
skiing.
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Dr. Harold Albrecht (l.),
Conservative MP for
Kitchener-Conestoga
and a retired dentist, with
Dr. Levin.
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Dr. Croutze with Bill Casey
(r.), chair of the House of
Common Standing
Committee on Health
and Liberal MP for
Cumberland-Colchester.
disease, the IFHP offers limited ability to save
teeth, and no ability to replace them if they
need to be extracted.”
Dr. Croutze made sure to highlight the
incredible generosity and empathy shown by
the dental community. “Many dentists from
across the country have stepped forward to
help these new refugees,” he says. “I however
wanted MPs to understand that relying
exclusively on pro bono services would not
be sufficient to address the oral health needs
of this cohort of new arrivals.”
CDA representatives met with both vice-
chairs of the House of Commons Standing
Committee on Citizenship and Immigration,
David Tilson and Jenny Kwan. These
meetings led to an invitation to appear
before the committee to discuss the
settlement of Syrian refugees, and more
specifically the IFHP. On May 31, Dr. Croutze
provided an overview of the program
coverage and limitations, feedback from
members of the provincial associations using
the IFHP, and suggestions on how to address
inefficiencies. The presentation was well
received, and the committee requested that
CDA follow up with a brief outlining current
issues and suggestions for improvement.
“This truly summarizes the importance of
building bridges with parliamentarians—
by offering clinical guidance and sharing
practical knowledge, we were able to
advocate on behalf of both the Syrian
refugees and the dental profession,”
concludes Dr. Croutze.
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