That didn’t take long.
Back in May, as part of a promise in the last federal budget to lower the cost of providing health care for unproven refugee claimants and asylum seekers, the federal government announced that newcomers awaiting hearings on their permanent residency would be required to pay 30% of their health care costs and four dollars on all prescriptions.
But quietly (almost secretively) on July 31, the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney walked back those changes and restored full funding to refugees and asylum seekers’ care, including feeding tubes, respiratory devices, implantable hearing aids, nursing homes and hospital-based rehabilitation, along with dental and vision care.
Those are products and services many Canadian citizens don’t receive for free.
The cost of the program, which had been $211 million in 2020-21 had grown to nearly $900 million last year before the budget cuts. This year it could well exceed $1 billion.
Canada is becoming a favoured destination for people in developing countries seeking high-quality, low-cost health care. Come to Canada, get those teeth fixed and top up your oxygen supplies all at the generosity of Canadian taxpayers.
May as well erect a giant, revolving neon sign that says, “Welcome to Canada. Free Health Care. Walk-Ins Accepted.”
Indeed, that’s pretty much what Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) did last fall.
Related
In social media posts last October, IRCC said to the rest of the world, “Thinking about moving to Canada? Did you know Canada has public health care? Learn how it works, who can get it and what services are covered.”
One in five Canadians cannot find a family doctor. Waiting times at emergency rooms routinely stretch over eight to 12 hours. And 74,000 Canadians have died on waiting lists for specialized care since 2018.
We can’t even care for all Canadians. Why in heavens do we imagine it’s a great idea to open our health-care doors to a flood of international service shoppers?
Yet the Carney Liberals think it’s the least we can do to add tens of thousands of refugees and asylum claimants to our health-care demand each year while they await hearings on their eligibility to stay in Canada.
The refugee claimant process can take three or more years, during which time it should be possible for folks on the backlog list to get most of their ailments patched up. For free. At Canadian taxpayers’ expense.
Some of this should be alleviated by the federal government’s new immigration rules that limit temporary foreigner works and student visa holders, but the Interim Federal Health Program (IHFP) is not aimed primarily at these two categories of newcomers.
The IHFP is reserved almost exclusively for refugee claimants and asylum seekers who present themselves at ports of entry, such as airports and land crossings, and ask for Canadian protection and residency.
In fact, the number of IFHP recipients could increase noticeably, despite changes to other immigration programs, since the residents of many countries will soon lose their ability to apply for asylum in the United States and are expected to turn to Canada, instead.
Where to draw the line between compassion and patsy-ism?
Canada has always been a welcoming country for new arrivals seeking safety and opportunity. It would be wrong to say, “No benefits at all.”
But first under Justin Trudeau and now under Mark Carney, the Liberals have stretched our compassion beyond its breaking point.
Benefits under the program were scaled back under the government of Stephen Harper. But all benefits were restored by Trudeau, then greatly expanded as costs skyrocketed.
So where’s the fine line? We passed that long ago when we began accepting anyone’s story of mistreatment, discrimination or danger in their home country and let them into Canada before vetting their claims.
Genuine refugees, who can prove their home governments or death squads are out to get them, should be welcomed. But why shouldn’t even they contribute to their own health care, the way Canadians do through their taxes?
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.