After years of waiting for the promised federal dental program, it is a disappointment with a loophole that can seemingly exclude anyone.

When I retired, I weighed the financial benefits of opting in to continue with a dental program through the company benefit program.

I decided that if I paid out of pocket for my wife and myself, I would still be ahead of things providing there were no major costs.

This, of course, is always a gamble with insurance. When the program was finally implemented after years of promises with the deal made for cooperation between the NDP and the minority government, it was finally settled.

I opted into the program and was happy that my wife and I could get dental work done without paying heavy premiums.

I was well under the threshold for yearly income, but still would be paying 60%.

I have received a letter from the government telling me I must pay back any of the benefits I received through this program because I had access to dental insurance.

A representative explained that I had access through my previous employer (which I was aware of) with substantial premiums on a limited monthly pension. They explained that anybody who has access to a group or benefits plan is not eligible.

What they could not seem to explain was that anybody in Canada has access to a dental insurance program if they are willing to pay the premiums.

This major loophole seems to set a guideline that, under these prerequisites, nobody would be eligible for the program, making it a redundant promise of dental help for lower-income citizens.

I have yet to receive an explanation that makes any sense.

Evan Begbie

Cowichan Bay

Recent letters have debated whether drivers or pedestrians bear responsibility in road accidents. One crucial factor is missing from that discussion: only one of these can kill the other.

Driving is not a neutral act. Driving means operating a machine that can — and........

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