Conservative refugee health care cuts were ‘economically foolish,’ John McCallum says

New IRC Minister McCallum’s priorities (while he did not discuss citizenship in this article, he has mentioned dropping revocation for dual nationals in other interviews):

The new Liberal government has committed to reverse the cuts. McCallum said that while that change won’t happen overnight, it’s high on the government’s priority list when Parliament resumes on Dec. 3.

“I don’t know if it will be on the parliamentary agenda before Christmas, but what I can tell you is that certain things will happen quickly — in a few months, if not a few weeks. And one of those is refugee health care.”

Also high on McCallum’s priority list is the Liberal plan to speed up processing times for family reunification, as a part of a renewed approach to immigration.

“Probably the biggest commitment in our platform in the medium term … is to bring down those processing times for families,” said McCallum. “We’ve promised to have a new attitude where we welcome newcomers with a smile and not with a scowl.”

In the short-term, McCallum said the most pressing issue for his department is the Liberal commitment to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada by year’s end.

He said the government is still working toward that target, but is also determined to do proper security and health checks along the way. He said the public service is working “around the clock,” looking at every option to get Syrian refugees to Canada.

Source: Conservative refugee health care cuts were ‘economically foolish,’ John McCallum says | CTV News