Conservatives call for investigation into asylum seekers’ access to health care

Safe target for the CPC… Arguably, recent changes by the government provide a needed correction:

The Conservatives plan to put a motion before the House of Commons on Tuesday aimed at reviewing how health benefits are provided to asylum seekers and restricting who has access to those services.

The planned text of the motion, which has been shared with The Canadian Press, says the cost of the Interim Federal Health Program has more than quadrupled since the 2020 fiscal year, growing from $211-million to $896-million in 2024-25.

That data was pulled from a report by the parliamentary budget officer published earlier this month.

In that report, which was requested by the House of Commons health committee, the PBO projects the program’s cost will reach $1.5-billion annually in 2028-29.

The federal government provides a host of medical services to asylum seekers, refugees and other protected persons through the Interim Federal Health Program.

Those services include routine medical treatment, hospital visits and lab work, and supplementary coverage for services like urgent dental procedures, some vision care, psychological therapy and prescription drugs. 

The Conservative motion calls for a review of the benefits provided to asylum claimants to find savings, and for asylum seekers appealing a rejected claim to be covered only for emergency, life-saving care. 

The motion also calls for an annual report to Parliament on program usage, with a specific focus on supplementary benefits, which generally aren’t covered for Canadians.

The PBO report says about 624,000 people were beneficiaries of the Interim Federal Health Program in 2024-25, up from about 200,000 people in 2020-21. A majority of those beneficiaries are asylum claimants….

Source: Conservatives call for investigation into asylum seekers’ access to health care