Christina Blizzard: Refugee Claimants

refugee claimants: Earlier this month when Ontario instated basic temporary health care for refugee claimants in the province, the Toronto Suns response was a story about a young Ontarian suffering from Cystic Fibrosis whose medication is not covered by OHIP: we dont have the money to pay for Ontarians, but we provide care to refugees? Let refugee claimants hold bake sales for their health care, wrote Christina Blizzard , according to The Star. If providing health care to refugees weighs on the provincial purse, which it does, then the finger should be pointed not at struggling refugee claimants but straight at the federal government that has shirked its responsibility for their care. The Interim Federal Health Program , which Ottawa axed in June 2012, had provided basic health care for refugee claimants and refused claimants not yet deported since 1957 and How is it that in Canada, once a world-renowned haven for those fleeing persecution in their homeland, refugees have become a boogeyman? Lets not pretend for a moment that giving refugees access to basic care means less health care for the rest of us. The cost of care for refugees is a pittance; in 2010-2011, the average cost of benefits for a refugee claimant was 10 per cent of the average per capita cost of health and social services for Canadians. Moreover, the provinces decision-making when it comes to providing special drugs might indeed deserve criticism, but not at the expense of other vulnerable people. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.