Refugee claimants struggling to find health care after cuts – The Globe and Mail

Contrast between the Government narrative and the human stories behind the impact of the cuts, following the recent court decision striking down the Government’s decision (Federal government to appeal ruling reversing cruel cuts to refugee health):

“We will vigorously defend the interests of Canadian taxpayers and the integrity of our fair and generous refugee determination system,” Alexis Pavlich, press secretary to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, said in an e-mail.

While the legal battle drags on, some refugees must rely on the help of volunteers or struggle to pay large medical bills.

At Toronto’s FCJ Refugee Centre, one of dozens across Canada, Loly Rico is compiling evidence of how the cuts have affected refugees so it can be used as ammunition against Ottawa’s appeal. “We need to be ready,” says Ms. Rico, an El Salvadorian refugee who founded the centre in 1991 with her husband, Francisco Rico-Martinez.

Since the cuts came into effect, their centre has run a small free clinic for the uninsured every second Saturday. It has seen about 100 patients, many of whom Ms. Rico says were turned away by hospitals and walk-in clinics uninterested in filing complex paperwork that would not guarantee payment.

Refugee claimants struggling to find health care after cuts – The Globe and Mail.