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CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
City says it has a plan to clean up after the Ottawa Police Service's new mounted unit
The unit is currently training in different neighbourhoods in Ottawa. One councillor has received complaints from residents about the mess left behind from the horses. The city says it has a plan but the process is still evolving.
National Post
4 hours ago
- National Post
J.D. Tuccille: U.S. Department of Education should be abolished
Article content In 2017, an article in the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Ed. magazine noted that, 'The federal government uses a complex system of funding mechanisms, policy directives and the soft but considerable power of the presidential bully pulpit to shape what, how and where students learn.' Article content In fact, state and local educators, largely linked by the culture and ideology that permeates teachers' unions and the federal Department of Education, are usually more than happy to have their arms twisted into accepting the latest trends favoured by Washington. The result is less variety and experimentation among schools that are locally operated but don't want to offend the feds. Maybe that would be tolerable if such standardization produced well-educated kids, but it doesn't. Article content In January, the Department of Education announced the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — often called 'the nation's report card' — by admitting they 'reveal a heartbreaking reality for American students and confirm our worst fears: not only did most students not recover from pandemic-related learning loss, but those students who were the most behind and needed the most support have fallen even further behind.' Article content Inefficient and unresponsive public schools aren't a new thing — Americans have complained about them for decades. But they're now doing more than complaining — they're heading for the exits in favour of alternatives, such as private schools, publicly funded but privately run charter schools, co-operative learning pods, micro-schools and various forms of homeschooling. Article content Since the COVID-19 pandemic, while traditional public schools saw enrolment decline by over a million students, private schools, which educate nine per cent of combined public and private students, picked up enrolment, many paying tuition with the help of tax credits and education savings accounts explicitly established to support school choice. At the same time, charter schools increased enrolment by 400,000 and now educate roughly seven per cent of all students. Article content Homeschooling is harder to measure since not all states track those who choose DIY education, but the Johns Hopkins University Homeschool Hub estimates that six per cent of students are educated through various homeschooling approaches and that, 'The number of home-schooled students is going up as the total number of U.S. students in going down.' Culture wars and battles over politicized classrooms — exemplified in those competing California and Texas textbooks — only serve to accelerate the exodus. Article content If the U.S. Department of Education is doing anything, it's presiding over a decline in public education that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Cara Fitzpatrick dramatically overstates in her 2023 book, ' The Death of Public Schools.' The public schools aren't dead, but they're mortally wounded and shedding support after having been rendered repulsive by their own advocates. Article content In March, President Trump ordered Education Secretary Linda McMahon to 'take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the states and local communities.' He's since laid off almost half the department's workforce — a move boosted this week when the U.S. Supreme Court eased the way for mass firings of federal workers. Article content Article content Article content
CBC
6 hours ago
- CBC
Half of requests for complex dental work are being rejected under national insurance plan
Social Sharing As federal dental care expands to cover most uninsured Canadians, providers say some procedures are being bogged down by paperwork and processing delays. Health Canada says 52 per cent of requests for pre-authorized dental work between November 2024 and June 2025 have been rejected. While the vast majority of claims don't need pre-authorization, it's required for more complex and often more expensive procedures, like crowns or partial dentures. Clinics must submit extra documentation like X-rays and dental charts to show the work is medically necessary before it can be covered and completed. "There's been a lot of confusion for dentists who send in what we would normally send in to a private plan, and it comes back rejected," said Dr. Bruce Ward, a Vancouver dentist and president of the Canadian Dental Association. "It's a much, much, much higher rejection rate than private plans." The multibillion-dollar Canadian Dental Care Plan helps cover the cost of dental work for Canadian residents with a family income below $90,000 who don't have access to private insurance. The program fully expanded to cover people aged 18 to 64 last month. Health Canada says 5.2 million people have been approved for coverage so far, but only about half — 2.2 million — have received care. And some new patients are getting an unexpected bill, while certain parts of the country are struggling to keep up with a huge influx of appointments, Ward said. Still, providers told CBC News the program is providing Canadians much-needed access to care — and that issues with the program are improving. Missing information Clinics submit the pre-authorizations through Sun Life, the insurance provider that the federal government contracted to run the program. Dental offices are sometimes waiting weeks or months for a response, only to be told Sun Life needs additional documentation — further slowing down the process, Ward said. "A lot of people have been waiting for crowns to be pre-authorized," Ward said. "There was an avalanche of approvals that got sent in." Health Canada said rejections and delays in pre-authorizations are caused by several factors, including an unexpected high volume of submissions that were missing information. Oral health-care providers also tell CBC News there were many technical issues with the submission software that have since been largely resolved. Health Canada has worked to streamline the process and educate providers about how to complete the applications, a spokesperson said. Eighty per cent of the pre-authorizations are now being processed within seven business days. And more than 90 per cent of the claims, like basic cleanings or fillings, don't require pre-authorization. But Donna Wells, manager of professional practice at the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association, said the program needs to better cover preventive care. The plan currently allots one hour of scaling per year for adults. Teenagers get just 15 minutes of scaling. "These are patients who have not had oral health care, in some cases, for a number of years, because it's been such a financial barrier for them," Wells said. She said pre-authorization applications for additional scaling are being rejected en masse. Growing pains Health Canada says over a million Canadians signed on to the program when it expanded in June, and 94,980 of them received dental care. But that influx of patients has led to a backlog in some parts of the country, like Atlantic Canada. WATCH | From May 2024: Dental care program begins: First phase of Canada's national dental care plan begins 1 year ago Duration 2:02 "This program is wonderful, but it's putting a strain on providers," said Natalie Marsh, a dental assistant in North Sydney, N.S., and vice-president of the Canadian Dental Assistants Association. She said her clinic is already booking appointments for spring 2026. "You're seeing people who haven't seen a dentist in a long time. So they're coming in with a lot of work to be done," she said. Not a 'free' program Providers said patients continue to be under the impression their dental work will be free of charge. But the program reimburses clinics at a rate lower than provincial fee guides, which they often use to set their rates. That means dental offices can "balance bill," charging the difference between the price of the procedure and what Ottawa will pay them. "I just had somebody in my office a couple of weeks ago who was very upset, because they'd been told that they were covered 100 per cent," Ward said. Ward said patients, including seniors, should remember they need to reapply every year. Despite those challenges, Ward said overall he's found the dental care plan to be "very good" to work with. That sentiment is echoed by other oral health associations. "It's been a huge boon to a lot of people who frankly would never have been able to afford to have their mouths taken care of," Ward said.
