Jason Kenney: Asylum Seekers

David Wong Dept: This case puts a human face to the hardship blindly imposed on many asylum seekers by Bill C-31, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney s ill-judged effort to get tough with bogus refugees. , according to The Star. Under a set of Draconian federal rules which came into effect on June 30, medical treatment is being denied to failed refugee claimants and those arriving from countries considered safe, unless their condition is deemed a public threat and daniel Garcia Rodriguez has experienced some of the best, and worst, that Canada can offer. The best includes St. Michael s Hospital eye surgeon Dr. David Wong, who saved this Columbian refugee claimant s vision in an operation largely funded through his own practice and by the hospital. Among the worst is the heartless federal policy that robbed Garcia Rodriguez of medical coverage in the first place. A few muddle-headed right-wingers might claim this shows Kenney s changes are working the health care system is spared some costs while someone who really needs a procedure still manages to get it. But that s nonsense. Bad government policy mustn t be excused because, in a few cases, others pick up the slack. Altruistic physicians like Wong can t be expected to carry the entire burden of care that s been irresponsibly cast aside by government. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.