Volume 9 • 2022 • Issue 4

seniors, persons living with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, racialized Canadians, and low-income families. “There’s already public provincial and territorial dental programs in place from coast to coast to coast in Canada, the infrastructure already exists, and we really feel like that would be the best and most efficient way in order to flow new investments so that they actually have an impact on Canadians,” said Michel Breau, CDA’s Head of Advocacy and Governance. Establishing a new federal dental care program is a highly complex matter, and at the time of publication, the federal government had released very few details on how its investment in dental care would be structured and allocated. The CDA delegation met with Health Minister Duclos on May 12 and appreciated working closely with his team and officials. Although there was a lot of discussion, no specifics were shared by the Minister on how the government plans to roll out the program. “CDA supports efforts by all levels of government to improve Canadians’ oral health,” said Dr. Tomkins. “However, the best way to invest in oral health care quickly and efficiently is to do so through stabilizing and enhancing existing provincial and territorial dental programs, rather than overlaying a new, stand-alone federal dental care program. We are encouraging the federal government to consult with the provinces and territories to determine what would work best in their communities,” added Dr. Tomkins. “Buoyed by the new federal dental care announcement, this year’s Days on the Hill meetings were marked by a strong enthusiasm and a good dose of aspiration. There was great interest in speaking to CDA and everyone was very engaged,” said Taylor Provak, CDA’s Government Relations Strategist. “We were able to follow up the meetings with additional background information, and overall, those we met with have a better understanding of our issues,” she said. “Sometimes we met with representatives in a ministry that might not seem directly related to health, but they had other areas that crossed over into areas in which we advocate,” said Dr. Tomkins. Women in Dentistry and Other Issues Discussed This year’s Days on the Hill was also an opportunity to put the spotlight on the evolution of women’s role in the dental profession. Until the 1970s, dentists were traditionally men, with women principally working in supporting roles in the dental practice. Today, we are getting closer to gender parity for dentists in the profession and the majority of students enrolled in dental schools in North America are women. Dr. Tomkins and Dr. Heather Carr, CDA’s current president and president-elect respectively, are proudly breaking gender stereotypes and led many of this year’s meetings with MPs and other government officials. “Four dental schools in Canada now have female deans: UBC, Manitoba, McGill and Laval. That’s a first (L. to r.): Dr. Aaron Burry, CDACEO, Dr. LynnTomkins, CDAPresident, theHonourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health. (L. to r.): Dr. LynnTomkins, Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Dr. Aaron Burry. 14 | 2022 | Issue 4