Chris Alexander and Michele Biss

Michele Biss: The Conservative government proposed changes to who can qualify for welfare amount to an effort to pressure provinces into adopting anti-refugee policies, say critics who are picking a new fight over benefits for refugee claimants. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. The Conservatives say they are just giving provinces the flexibility to determine benefits, but it not a benign change, Michele Biss of the group Canada Without Poverty told a news conference Tuesday. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander answers a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. A new battle is brewing between refugee advocates and the federal government this time over whether those awaiting a decision on their refugee status ought to have access to social assistance. THE Sean Kilpatrick Nearly 160 groups from across the religious and social spectrum are calling on the government to reverse measures, buried in the latest omnibus budget bill, which open the door to refugee claimants being denied welfare. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.