Volume 9 • 2022 • Issue 3

On March 31, the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA). Since the HUMA committee is studying labour shortages, working conditions and the care economy, Dr. Richard Holden, CDA president at that time, focused on the labour shortage issue surrounding dental assistants in Canada. CDAAddresses HUMA Committee on Dental Assistants Labour Shortage in Canada T he COVID-19 pandemic had an immense impact on access to dental care causing dental offices to shut down for months in 2020. Health care human resources, workforce issues and labour shortages have been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and are now widespread across health sectors and professions. “For private settings such as dental offices, the number of dental assistants in the workforce was an obstacle even before the pandemic,” said Dr. Holden. “The post-pandemic reality has worsened the challenge of hiring and retaining dental assistants.” CDA cautioned that any initiatives to increase the supply of health care workers in the public system risks heightening the workforce challenges also faced by private-sector providers, approximately one-third of health care in Canada. Any new government initiatives related to health care human resource and workforce issues should consider the significant portion of health care in Canada delivered outside of the publicly funded system, in private settings such as dental offices. Any new government initiatives related tohealth care human resource andworkforce issues should consider the significant portion of health care in Canada delivered outside of the publicly funded system, in private settings such as dental offices. 13 Issue 3 | 2022 |