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www.doctorsforrefugeecare.ca

NATIONAL WEEK OF RECKONING OCT 5 - 9

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NATIONAL WEEK OF RECKONING OCT 5 - 9, 2015
FIGHT AGAINST CONSERVATIVE CUTS TO REFUGEE HEALTHCARE
ENTERS ELECTION WITH DOCTOR-LED WEEK OF RECKONING
Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care to hold information pickets, visits to Conservative candidate
campaign offices to seek commitments to end costly, cruel and unusual cuts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015
TORONTO Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care (CDRC) will convene an October 5-9, 2015 National Week of Reckoning
calling on Conservative candidates to drop the federal governments costly court appeal and rescinding of its cruel and unusual
cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFH) cuts, which inhumanely punish refugees seeking access to heath care.
In spite of the 2014 Federal Court of Canada decision, which decried the cuts as unconstitutional, cruel and unusual, the
Conservative government continues to fallaciously argue that denying necessary health care to refugees including children
and pregnant women is good policy, and whose effects are unimpactful, and whose scope, narrow. To date, the Conservatives
remain the only major, national party unwilling to restore health coverage for refugees.
You can give Prime Minister Stephen Harper the benefit of doubt the first time he misinformed Canadians on the consequences
of the cuts to refugee health care, but the huge outcry from interested and informed parties and in the press should have caused
him to correct his statements, says St. Michaels Hospitals Inner City Health Program Medical Director and CDRC Co-Chair Dr.
Philip Berger. The Prime Minister of Canada has continued to repeat the same untruths, and we can only conclude that he is
deliberately trying to deceive the Canadian electorate, surmised the Toronto-based physician.
While CDRC has documented several examples of refugees being denied important, public health care services, the
Conservatives cuts have also resulted in increased costs to local hospitals and provincial governments this, while sowing
seeds of confusion within the health care system. Whats more, the federal government continues to spend more than $1
million (so far) fighting to preserve the cuts including by way of its court appeal. Moreso, even after the government was
forced to implement a temporary health program for refugees in response to the Federal Courts decision, privately-sponsored
refugees over 18 including individuals from Syria are still being denied coverage, including coverage for prescription drugs,
psychiatric care and prosthetic limbs.
CDRCs repeated requests to share its evidence and discuss potential policy resolutions with Chris Alexander, Minister of
Citizenship and Immigration, have been denied. Senior members of the federal government and its staffs only response, thus far,
has been to personally attack health workers.
The Conservative government has failed to answer multiple requests for a meeting from the leadership of 20 national health
organizations who oppose the cuts, showing a measure of contempt to the health professions rarely seen in Canadian history,
states Medical Director of the Crossroads Clinic at Womens College Hospital (Toronto) and CDRC Co-Chair Dr. Meb Rashid.
Despite Conservative refusals to meet with organization representatives, CDRC will, throughout its Week of Reckoning,
join many health care community colleagues in one final attempt to speak with Conservative candidates before Election Day;
imploring them to do the right thing: commit to restoring health care services to refugees.
For details on local events, visit doctorsforrefugeecare.ca or facebook.com/RefugeeHealthCare
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Christopher Holcroft, Principal, Empower Consulting:
tel: 416-996-0767 email: christopherholcroft@hotmail.ca
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FACTS
NATIONAL WEEK OF RECKONING OCT 5 - 9, 2015

ELECTION

2015

ON CONSERVATIVE PARTY CLAIMS

RE: REFUGEE HEALTH CARE
SINCE THE FEDERAL CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT CUT SERVICES TO REFUGEE HEALTH CARE MORE
THAN THREE YEARS AGO, GOVERNMENT MINISTERS HAVE CONTINUED TO MISREPRESENT THE FACTS
ABOUT CUTS TO REFUGEE HEALTH CARE. MOST RECENTLY, PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER HAS, ON
SEVERAL OCCASIONS, INACCURATELY DESCRIBED THE SCOPE OF HIS GOVERNMENTS CUTS. ALLOW
US TO CORRECT THE RECORD.
THE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT DID NOT CUT HEALTH COVERAGE TO BOGUS REFUGEES, THEY CUT SERVICES TO
MOST REFUGEES: TRUE
Since 1957, the federal government has provided basic health coverage to refugees arriving in Canada many of whom
are among the most vulnerable people in the world. At most, refugees received services equivalent to Canadians on social
assistance.
As part of the cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program, all refugees, except government-assisted refugees, lost access
to medication coverage, vision, and dental care.
People from certain countries (known as Designated Countries of Origin), such as Hungary and Mexico, lost all health
coverage including for urgent and essential care, except in cases of public health concerns or issues of public security.
THE CUTS HAVE BEEN A CRUEL POLICY FAILURE: TRUE
The cuts have resulted in many refugees being denied care, including children and pregnant women. Canadian Doctors for
Refugee Care has documented many such unacceptable cases.
In July, 2014, the Federal Court of Canada rejected the governments arguments and ruled the cuts unconstitutional,
referring to them as cruel and unusual.
The cuts and added paperwork have created confusion within the health care system.
In response to the court decision, the government enacted temporary measures to restore health coverage for many
refugees, yet it still denies privately sponsored refugees 19 and older including Syrian refugees coverage for
prescription drugs, psychiatric care, and prosthetic limbs. The government is also appealing the court decision.
TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING UNNECESSARY COSTS AS A RESULT OF THESE CUTS: TRUE
Several published reports note that public hospitals are facing increased costs as a result of refugee patients being forced
to seek treatment in expensive emergency rooms because of the cuts to primary care. Provincial governments have
echoed this reality.
It was revealed in Parliament that the Conservative government is spending more than a $1.4 million fighting an appeal of
the Federal Court decision.
OPPOSITION TO THE HEALTH CUTS IS WIDESPREAD AND GROWING: TRUE
Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care is joined by more than 20 national health organizations in calling on the Conservative
government to reverse the costly, cruel, and reckless health cuts.
All Premiers representing various political parties have criticized the Conservatives cuts.
At least two public opinion polls reveal Canadians do not support cutting refugee health care.

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CANADIAN DOCTORS FOR REFUGEE HEALTHCARE

BACKGROUNDER
THE HISTORY
On April 25th, 2012, the federal government announced a series of sweeping changes to the Interim Federal Health
Program (IFHP), which provides health insurance for refugees in Canada. Immediately after the decision was announced,
doctors and health care workers rallied together to protest the cuts, which they feared would leave a vulnerable population
without access to essential health services and would cause chaos for healthcare providers. As a result of significant public
pressure, the government subsequently announced that government-assisted refugees would not be impacted by the cuts.
For all other refugees, the cuts came into effect on June 30th, 2012.
The previous IFH program, which had been in place since 1957, provided access to medical care, diagnostic services
and laboratory testing that was very similar to what is provided by provincial health plans. It also provided medications,
emergency dental care and vision care similar to what is available to people on provincial social assistance plans.
THE CONTEXT
To understand the cuts, it is important to recognize the different types of refugees in Canada. Privately sponsored refugees
are those who were identified as refugees pre-migration to Canada, while refugee claimants make their claims after
arriving in Canada. Of the latter type, there are two categories those from 42 designated countries of origin (DCO), which
the federal Ministry for Citizenship and Immigration believes should not be producing refugees, and those from all other
countries.
Due to the cuts to the IFHP, all refugees except government-assisted refugees lost access to medication coverage, vision
and dental care. Initially, people from DCOs lost all health coverage including for urgent and essential care, except in cases
of public health concerns or issues of public security.
THE RESULTS
As predicted, many refugees have suffered as a result of the cuts. Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care (CDRC) has
documented many cases of people being denied access to necessary health care services including pregnant women and
sick children. Various media have also reported shocking examples of very ill patients being denied care because they were
not insured by the federal government.
At the time of the cuts, CDRC warned that the changes to the IFHP would not yield any cost savings for the government.
Restricting access to preventive care leads to repeated emergency room visits and hospitalizations that increase costs to
the health system. Again, this prediction has been realized. Media reports have indicated public hospitals are absorbing
large, unexpected costs due to the federal cuts to refugee health care. It is estimated that five Toronto-area hospitals alone
account for more than $1 million in unexpected costs due to providing necessary health care to refugees who are no longer
insured by the federal government. As well, a study released in May of 2014 found that 95% of children presenting at the
emergency room of Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto in the six months immediately after the IFH cuts took effect were denied
coverage by the federal government.
THE CAMPAIGN
Healthcare professionals from physicians to midwives to pharmacists continue to call on the federal government to
reinstate equitable healthcare coverage for all refugees.
In February, 2013, the CDRC became a co-litigant in a Charter challenge to the cuts to the IFHP.
CANADIAN DOCTORS FOR REFUGEE HEALTHCARE
BACKGROUNDER CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE

CANADIAN DOCTORS FOR REFUGEE HEALTHCARE

BACKGROUNDER CONTINUES

On June 13, 2013, more than 50 prominent Canadian writers and artists signed a declaration that called on the federal
government to reverse its cuts to refugee health care. Among the signatories were authors Dr. Vincent Lam, Margaret
Atwood, Yann Martel, actors Shirley Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland, and former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.
On June 15, 2015, health care workers staged the fourth National Day of Action with events in cities across the county.
Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care is supported by over 20 health care organizations, including: the College of Family
Physicians of Canada, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Association of Optometrists,
the Canadian Association of Social Workers, the Canadian Dental Association, the Canadian Medical Association, the
Canadian Nurses Association, the Canadian Pharmacists Association, the Canadian Association of Community Health
Centres, Canadian Doctors for Medicare, the Canadian Association of Midwives, the Registered Nurses Association
of Ontario, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Union, the Canadian Psychiatric Association, the Canadian Paediatric
Society, the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Canada, Mdecins du Monde, Public Physicians
of Canada, Ontarios Council of Medical Officers of Health, the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, the
Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and the Dieticians of Canada.
Still, the government has refused to meet with any national health care organization on this issue. In October, of 2012, the
CDRC submitted a written proposal to then-Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minster Jason Kenney which
specifically addressed the federal governments stated equity concerns while maintaining access to important health care
services for refugees. The CDRC received no response to this request. We have also reached out to the current Minister,
Chris Alexander for a meeting and even challenged him to a public debate on the facts of the issue, but received no reply.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
On July 4th, 2014, the Federal Court ruled that the cuts to refugee health care were cruel and unusual and therefore
unconstitutional. While the Conservative government appeals the decision, they have been forced by the Court to implement
Temporary measures for the Interim Federal Health Program. Although the government was forced to restore varying levels
of coverage to children, pregnant women, and refugees from DCO countries, these measures do not fully restore the level
of coverage that was available to refugees before the original cuts. The future of refugee health care is still in an unsettling
uncertainty. Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care, Justice for Children and Youth, and the Canadian Association of Refugee
Lawyers will fight the federal governments costly appeal of the Federal Court decision.
FACT CHECK
The federal government continues to misrepresent the facts about cuts to refugee health care. Allow us to correct the
record.
The federal government has only cut health coverage to bogus refugees. Fact: As part of the cuts to the Interim Federal
Health Program, all refugees except government-assisted refugees lost access to medication coverage, vision and dental
care. People from Designated Countries of Origin initially lost all health coverage including for urgent and essential care,
except in cases of public health concerns or issues of public security. Some refugee claimants must wait up to four to six
weeks for any health care coverage. Therefore to suggest individuals lawfully within our borders and awaiting their hearing,
such as a persecuted Roma woman from Hungary or an Afghan woman fleeing after Taliban death threats or a child
arriving from a developing country with an infectious disease, are bogus is simply false.
Taxpayers are saving money with these cuts. Fact: there is no evidence to support this. In fact, what we do know is that in
several published reports, public hospitals were facing increased costs as refugee patients were forced to seek treatment
in expensive emergency rooms because of the cuts to primary care for refugees. Provincial governments have echoed this
reality.
Canadian do not want refugees receiving better health coverage than citizens receive. Fact: Since 1957, the federal
government has provided basic health coverage to refugees arriving in Canada, many of whom are among the most
vulnerable people in the world. At most, refugees received services equivalent to Canadians on social assistance. A Forum
research poll released last year revealed Canadians thought refugees should have more access to health care services, not
less.
ABOUT CANADIAN DOCTORS FOR REFUGEE CARE
Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care is a non-profit organization advocating for refugee health care. The organization is led
by a group of non-partisan physicians from across Canada, most of who treat refugees. Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care
was formed in the spring of 2012 in response to the federal governments cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program for
refugees.
FURTHER INFORMATION
doctorsforrefugeecare.ca | facebook.com/RefugeeHealthCare | twitter.com/docs4refugeehc