Health Coverage: Chris Alexander

Chris Alexander: The minister asserts that the cuts will only affect bogus refugees but this is not the case. Many claimants who are now denied federal health care have not even had their claims determined, yet the minister has already deemed them bogus. Many of those whose claims were rejected were fleeing extreme suffering and hardship; that a decision maker found them not to fit within the narrow legal definition of a refugee does not prove that they acted in bad faith by seeking refugee protection, according to The Star. So where is the savings? Instead of having an illness treated at early stages by a family doctor, refugees who are denied health coverage end up costing provincial taxpayers much more by being treated when the costs and risks are significantly higher. So in fact the measures increase the costs, shifting them from federal to provincial coffers and Immigration Minister Chris Alexanders assertion that Ontario is wrong about temporarily providing health care to refugees in the face of the cuts made by the conservative government last June is profoundly disappointing. It shows that Chris Alexander, like his predecessor Jason Kenney, is willing to play politics with the health and safety of refugees and refugee claimants who have sought protection in Canada. We are presently in court challenging the cuts. While a minister can get away with making these assertions in the public domain, a court of law demands that factual claims be supported by evidence. Minister Alexander states publicly that the cruel initiative will save taxpayers money. But when pressed in legal proceedings to challenge the cuts the government could provide no evidence of any significant savings. Indeed, the government ultimately argued that the refugees who are denied health coverage by the federal government are not really at risk of dying because they will still be able to get it by going to the emergency departments at hospitals where no one can be turned away. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.