Health Care: Tiny Maria

Tiny Maria: City council is to debate and vote on recommendations affirming the uninsured receive health-care access. This motion passed unanimously at the Toronto Board of Health on April 29, chaired by councillor Joe Mihevc, according to The Star. Tiny Maria and her brave mother Gladys, for another. Maria is just four weeks old. Gladys came here from Africa to prevent her yet unborn baby girl from certain female genital mutilation circumcision . Gladys made her refugee claim. She was still waiting for health care when Maria was born. Maria was denied OHIP papers because her mother did not have refugee claim approval yet. This contravenes the rules, but it happens. Maria became ill at four weeks, as newborns can do. Mom has a $5,000-plus hospital bill she is paying off, $10 at a time, for 20 years and Today Toronto city council has the opportunity to right a long standing and unhealthy social injustice that plagues and harms tens of thousands Torontonians. Canadas disgraceful denial of health care equity and eligibility to our landed immigrants and some Canadian citizens caught in Ontarios three-month wait for OHIP, to refugee claimants waiting for or denied interim federal health, and sponsored members in the family class, many in the foreign worker and student visa program, children and youth new to Canada, or those on our streets and homeless who have no documents. Who will they be voting for? Mike for one. He came to Canada 26 years ago on the foreign worker program. He picked our tobacco and tomatoes for 22 straight years. He had OHIP, until he suffered disabling back pain. He missed his first day at work in 20 years. When Mike couldnt work, his OHIP was cancelled, leaving him unable to get medical treatment for the kidney stones causing his pain and damaging his kidney. When he appealed to Immigration Canada, they told Mike to go home. Mike told them Canada is my home now. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.