The proposed dental benefit for children under the age of 12 by Ottawa, according to parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux, would cost $703 million over the following three fiscal years.
Giroux released the costing in a new report Thursday after MPs voted Wednesday to send the bill to a committee for study, putting it one step closer to becoming reality.
The benefit would give children from households without insurance who make less than $90,000 a year up to $650 a year to pay dental expenses.
It is a crucial component of the Liberal-NDP supply and confidence deal and is intended to be a stopgap solution while the government develops a more comprehensive dental care strategy.
Bill C-31, which contains both the dental benefit and a one-time $500 stipend for low-income tenants, is opposed by the Conservatives.
They contend that the actions would only marginally help Canadians and increase inflation.
Ottawa’s children’s dental care programme would cost $703 million: PBO
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