CAMPAIGN 31 WEEK 5

A Tale of Protection:
A familys health in limbo

Earlier this month, Bill C-31 was quickly pushed into its third reading in the House of Commons. However, opposition is growing as refugee advocates and human rights supporters across Canada are expressing their concerns about the effects of the legislation on the most vulnerable among our population: refugees. Campaign 31 is entering its 5th week and steadily gaining popularity and support. This weeks tale of protection continues to outline some of the negative impacts of the recent changes to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP). This tale specifically focuses on the impacts on people living in limbo in Canada due to their inability to return to their countries of origin.
The Diazs are senior citizens from Cuba who came to Canada in 2007 to visit their children and grandchildren. Both of them were hardworking individuals making their living in Cuba by managing their own small business. While in Canada the Diaz familys property was seized by the government. Their bank accounts and retirement pensions were frozen, their business licence revoked, and their home seized just some of the repressive measures taken by the Cuban government against the family and other self-employed Cubans. To make matters worse, the family was declared to be deserters and have lost their rights as Cuban citizens. If the family wishes to return home they can only do so as visitors and only with special authorization from the government of Cuba. Upon their return, they will be treated as tourists, whose stay in Cuba will be limited to 21 days. The Diaz familys application for refugee status was rejected. Thus, neither recognized as refugees nor being able to return to Cuba, the family has been in a state of limbo in Canada for years. Under the IFHP reform the family, being refused refugee claimants, will lose their access to basic healthcare. Besides being active within their community and helping to raise their grandchildren, they both suffer chronic illnesses requiring some form of medical attention. As an elderly couple they cannot continue to pay out of pocket for healthcare treatments. Without continued care their condition will worsen and they will lose their selfsufficiency and independence, while their health deteriorates. Thus, instead of being productive members of society and caregivers for their grandchildren the couple will become a burden on the family. The effects of the inhumane and precipitated changes to the IFHP are manifold and will affect Canadians and newcomers alike. Without basic healthcare refugees and refugee claimants will be compelled to live with untreated conditions. As a result many will seek the care of emergency rooms and community health clinics. This will put an enormous strain on the provincial healthcare system which is already under pressure to manage the increasing cost of healthcare. As a result, the federal policy changes on IFHP will negatively affect every single Canadian in need of care. There are hundreds of people, including children, from Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq, among others, who have been refused refugee status and are compelled to live in limbo in Canada given the extreme violence in their countries of origin. Many of them have lived in Canada for years and have been entitled only to emergency medical services. The IFHP reform will take even that away leaving women, men and children not only in legal limbo but without any medical assistance. Are we ready to be a society that lets people die because their treatment costs too much? What if the Diazs were your family? Wouldnt you expect Canada to treat them with the same dignity we all deserve?