Ottawa’s treatment of refugees is shocking – André Picard

2014/11/08 Leave a comment

Hard to disagree with Picard’s assessment:

The IFHP cuts outraged physicians who provide care to immigrants and refugees and non-governmental organizations who sponsor them because they were mean-spirited, bureaucratic and ethically challenging.

They also “saved” very little money; IFHP costs fell to about $65-million. But those savings were illusory because refugees did to not stop having babies, getting sick and suffering from chronic conditions like diabetes, regardless of their country of origin. They just ended up emergency rooms, where no one is turned away and, having no insurance, they were billed, bills they could not pay. Essentially, the costs were shifted from Ottawa to cash-strapped hospitals; in response, a number of provinces offered health coverage to refugee claimants but grudgingly, because it’s Ottawa’s jurisdiction and responsibility, constitutionally.

There was also a lawsuit and, in a landmark ruling this past July, Madam Justice Anne Mactavish ruled, to no one’s surprise, that the cuts were unconstitutional. What was surprising was the court deeming the cuts to be “cruel and unusual punishment” because they were aimed at the most poor and oppressed among us, targeted at “innocent and vulnerable children in a manner that shocks the conscience and outrages our standards of decency.” Judge Mactavish gave the government four months to fully restore the program.

The government’s response to being chastised in this manner was to dig in its heels. Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, once a respected diplomat, hinted the order would be defied. The government went to court and asked for the Nov. 4 deadline to be extended, which a judge rejected out-of-hand.

Then, at the last minute, on the court-imposed deadline, Mr. Alexander announced that the ruling would be appealed and, in the meantime, the program would be restored, but only partially and temporarily.

This is as shocking – if not more so – than the original cuts.

The IFHP should have been fully restored to its pre-2012 form. Period. No ifs, ands or buts.

Since when is a government allowed to partially respect a court order? How is this not contempt of court? The government has every right to appeal a court ruling but it should treat the institution with respect, not crass cynicism.

Ottawa’s treatment of refugees is shocking – The Globe and Mail.

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Refugee health care temporarily restored in most categories

2014/11/06 2 Comments

Government partial compliance with the refugee claimant health care coverage:

“We are doing this because the court has ordered us to do it. We respect that decision while not agreeing with it,” Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said following question period on Tuesday.

The government had until the end of today to review a 2012 policy the Federal Court deemed unconstitutional, “cruel and unusual” last July.

The government had asked for a stay until an appeal is heard, but that request was rejected on Friday. A date for the appeal has not been set.

“Under the temporary measures, most beneficiaries are eligible to receive coverage for hospital, medical and laboratory services, including pre- and post-natal care as well as laboratory and diagnostic services,” the government said in a notice posted on the website of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration over an hour after the minister spoke.

Children under 19 years of age will receive full coverage, while pregnant women will be covered for all but supplemental health benefits.

Supplemental benefits include “limited dental and vision care, prosthetics and devices to assist mobility, home care and long-term care, psychological counselling provided by a registered clinical psychologist, and post-arrival health assessments.”

However, refugee claimants in seven of the 12 categories included in the governments chart will not be covered for drugs or supplemental health coverage.

….The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, one of the groups that took the government to court over the changes the Conservatives brought in back in 2012, says the temporary plan does not comply with the Federal Court ruling.

“The government is still being punitive, they’re being selective and the court told them to reinstate all benefits,” said Peter Showler, co-chair of the refugee lawyers’ group and a former chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. He is also an expert in refugee law at the University of Ottawa.

Showler was critical of the government’s decision to deprive certain refugee claimants of coverage for prescription medications.

“They are not in compliance with the decision based on the information that the government put out on its website today.”

Refugee health care temporarily restored in most categories – Politics – CBC News.

And the link to the table outlining what is covered and what is not:

Text of the government’s temporary plan for refugee health care

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Interview with Ratna Omidvar – Flight and Freedom

2014/11/03 Leave a comment

Good interview between Dana Wagner and Ratna Omidvar on their forthcoming book, Flight and Freedom, recounting the experiences and personal stories on refugees taking refuge in Canada:

Dana: You’re describing something that’s very intimate, because you and your husband fled Iran in 1981 as refugees. What do you want Canadians to know about the experience of flight?

Ratna: Yes, these stories are close to my heart. My husband and I made our own escape from Iran when it became clear our lives were not safe under Tehran’s new rulers. We couldn’t raise a family the way we wanted, and war with Iraq threatened to call my husband to the frontline. So we boarded a bus to Turkey with our young daughter, found our way to Germany, and ultimately decided on Canada. Our escape does not approach the danger and hardship so many others face fleeing countries worldwide including Iran. But a few of the most vivid moments of my life occurred on that journey. One was in a cold customs room at the border crossing with Turkey, when our future was uncertain. Forward, or back? What punishment would we face for attempted escape? The second was in a plane, over a vast land of forests broken by silver lakes. In Canadian skies, I began to breathe again.

This glimpse of the terror involved in escape, and the unparalleled exhilaration of freedom, does not fade fast. It’s in everything, a permanent imprint behind my eyelids. There has been a deep link for me between the personal and the professional from my family’s experience. I embraced this country, and because of what it gave me – its protection and opportunities – I will always strive to change it for the better. After a time, I gave myself license to start rearranging the furniture in my new home. The desire to thrive and to give back is palpable in refugees who come to Canada. We think of refugees taking and needing, but they enrich our communities in incredible ways.

Well worth reading the complete interview as well as checking out their site, Flight and Freedom.

Interview with Ratna Omidvar – Flight and Freedom.

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Refugee health cuts: Ottawa has until Nov. 4 to put in place new policy

2014/11/01 Leave a comment

A pretty resounding defeat (again) for the Government for a particularly mean-spirited policy change, one whose policy rationale sharply diminished given the dramatic reduction in the number of refugee claimants following refugee reform:

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander was critical of the decision.

“Our government disagrees with the courts flawed decision and will continue to do whats necessary to protect the interests of Canadian taxpayers and genuine refugees,” Kevin Menard said in an email.

Lawyers for the refugee claimants who brought the case had argued the stay was unnecessary as the government could just revert to the pre-2012 system referred to in Fridays decision as the 1957 program, which granted coverage to everyone.

The Conservatives had implemented a new refugee health-care program in 2012 which drastically cut coverage and meted it out depending on the nature of the refugee claim itself.

They argued that since the old program is no longer operational, the four months given by the Federal Court to create a new one wasnt enough time.

In his decision, Webb said allowing the stay would have meant saddling affected refugees with reduced health-care coverage for an undetermined period while the case continued to churn through the courts.

“It seems to me that the effect of denying the stay which would mean that the changes to the 1957 program … would not be made would be to defer these changes until the final resolution of the appeal, if the appellants are successful,” he wrote.

“The harm that would be caused by reverting to the 1957 program … is outweighed, in this case, by the harm that would be suffered by those who would have reduced health coverage under the 2012 program if the stay is granted and the respondents are ultimately successful.”

We will see if the Government chooses to respond by creating “confusion” or just gets on with implementing the change.

Refugee health cuts: Ottawa has until Nov. 4 to put in place new policy – Politics – CBC News.

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Omnibus budget bill restricts refugee access to social assistance

2014/10/29 Leave a comment

Whether or not you agree with the restriction (given that the major changes to the refugee system have dramatically reduced the numbers claiming refugee status, hard not to see this as more ideologically driven than based upon evidence), it is abuse of Parliament to include this measure (along with far too many others) in the Omnibus Budget Bill.

Not the first government to stuff budget bills with measures that should be debated and reviewed separately (Liberals under Chrétien started the trend), but as the Globe editorial notes, this government has taken this to new lows –Harper’s Ottawa is Omnibusted):

Although he did not take issue with the timing, New Democrat MP Craig Scott said the government uses omnibus bills precisely to avoid scrutiny of controversial provisions like the refugee social assistance cuts.

Scott called the social assistance and health care cuts “a one-two punch,” aimed at discouraging vulnerable, desperate people from finding their way to Canada and claiming refugee status, even though many claimants turn out to be genuine refugees.

“It suggests to me that they are pursuing the Fortress Canada approach to refugees to the nth degree,” said Scott, adding that the NDP will press the government to split the refugee provision from the budget bill.

“We want this pulled, simply because it’s frankly so offensive that they can’t justify the substance, let alone how they’re doing it.”

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander defended the notion of restricting refugees access to social assistance in essentially the same language the government used to justify limiting their access to health care.

“Canada has the most fair and generous immigration system in the world,” said Kevin Menard.

“However, Canadians have no tolerance for those who take unfair advantage of our generosity.”

Menard added that allowing provinces to impose minimum residency requirements would build on the savings already racked up as a result of reforms to the refugee asylum system, which he pegged at $1.6 billion over five years.

He stressed, however, that it’s up to each province to decide whether to impose minimum periods of residence to qualify for social assistance.

Deputy Liberal leader Ralph Goodale called the governments latest move on refugees the product of a “nasty, vindictive and irresponsible” ideology.

Omnibus budget bill restricts refugee access to social assistance – Politics – CBC News.

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With number of immigrant detainees growing, border agency explored holding them in prisons

2014/10/17 Leave a comment

Officials doing their job to find possible solutions to one of the consequences of a change in policy:

In a letter to Correctional Service commissioner Don Head, Portelance noted the border agency was assessing options for “increasing its capacity” and wanted to explore the prison service’s “expertise and facilities to hold immigration detainees.”

The border agency holds people who are considered a flight risk or a danger to the public, and those whose identities cannot be confirmed.

It has also become easier to detain newcomers. Federal changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allow officials to hold people 16 or older who enter Canada as part of an “irregular arrival” — a group whose origins are unclear or a case where criminal human smuggling is suspected.

An internal border agency background memo notes the organization has three immigration holding centres across Canada, but relies on provincial jails in other locations to house higher-risk detainees.

“In some cases, the provinces have indicated their intention to cease holding detainees in the long-term or limit how many individuals can be held within their facilities,” the memo says.

It adds that the federal government’s “current legislative agenda concerning immigration matters and the potential for an increase in the daily detained population” make discussions with the prison service necessary.

The documents, prepared in early 2012, were recently released under the Access to Information Act.

Neither the border agency nor the prison service would make anyone available for an interview. However, in emailed answers to questions, the agencies confirmed that discussions about use of federal prisons took place.

The border agency did an internal review of options for the detention program that was presented to the organization’s executive for approval early this year, said agency spokeswoman Line Guibert-Wolff.

“As a result of this process, in February 2014, the CBSA decided that federal correctional facilities would not be used to hold immigration detainees.”

With number of immigrant detainees growing, border agency explored holding them in prisons

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Are we still that compassionate Canada? – Dueck

2014/10/07 Leave a comment

Further to Erna Paris’ recent op-ed, Canadian mean-mindedness is back, Lorna Dueck picks up on the same theme from a faith perspective:

There are more than 40,000 places of worship in Canada, and care for our global neighbours matters to them. But now is when we will find out whether these communities can put action behind their beliefs. Mark Blumberg of Global Philanthropy reports that faith groups have increased overseas aid philanthropy 300 per cent since the boat people crisis, but my guess is we may be sorely out of touch with what it means to bring a refugee crisis into our suburban and rural homes today.

“It’s extremely provocative and it should act as a question to all of us as Canadians, as people of faith. The generous people who sponsored 70,000 refugees of the South Asian crisis still exist. That is still who we are, but the mean, nasty atmosphere that surrounds us now, that’s also true,” refugee advocate and author Mary Jo Leddy told us recently on Context TV.

“It has blinded us to the simple fact that these are our brothers and sisters,” she added. “… When you see them face to face and they look you in the eye [and they say] please help me, you at that moment are summoned, and it may well be one of the most important choices of your life.”

Are we still that compassionate Canada? – The Globe and Mail.

And more on the government’s inability to bring in Syrian refugees more quickly and the impact of cutbacks:

The Canadian government announced last year it would bring 1,300 Syrian refugees into Canada. The majority of refugees are sponsored by private groups, mostly churches, but to date only a couple hundred refugees have actually arrived.

In comparison, Sweden has taken in 30,000 Syrians with a population that is about one quarter of Canada’s.

The authors of the internal CIC report recommend the government hire more permanent staff, as well as hire some temporary workers to conduct a “blitz” to clear the backlog.

“Improvements to process accountability and processing efficiency cannot be realized without having a sufficient number of dedicated staff in place to handle core functions and to eliminate the backlog that has developed over time,” the report reads.

“It’s a damning report. It doesn’t beat around the bush,” said Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council of Refugees.

“There have been a lot of cuts in Citizenship and Immigration Canada, notably they’ve closed offices across Canada … It’s quite clear that things have not been going well.”

Departmental officials won’t say if more staff have been hired since the report was released late last year. But they said efforts are being made to speed up the process.

“Processing is done according to priority, with Syrian files currently identified as a priority,” according to a statement from a CIC spokesperson.

That concerns people like Showler, though, who wonder about other non-Syrian refugees currently in the cue.

“That means someone who was supposed to come from Thailand, Burma, Africa …that means they’re being delayed even further,” he said.

Showler said in the past, Canada has acted much faster to help refugees escape to safety.

“We did it for Yugoslavia. We brought in 5,000 and we did it within one year … we know how to do this. This is an issue of political will,” he added.

Syrian refugee backlog blamed on federal government cuts

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Refugee health-cuts ruling appealed by Ottawa – Politics – CBC News

2014/10/03 Leave a comment

No surprise on the appeal and request for a stay. Will see how it turns out:

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander also filed a motion to stay the judgment of Judge Anne Mactavish, whose ruling meant refugee applicants would once again have access to Canadian health care while they wait for a decision on their cases in Canada.

The government claims 13 grounds for its appeal, including the argument that the judge made several errors of fact. It also says the judge “applied different standards of reliability to the evidence of the applicants and the respondents.”

In an interview with CBC News, the lead lawyer who won the case said the governments months-long delay in filing the appeal, and the motion for a stay of judgment, means his team will have to scramble to prevent serious health problems among refugees from going untreated.

“If the matter is stayed there will be a delay and so there will be thousands of  persons who should be getting coverage as a result of that order who will be denied that coverage for a longer period of time,” said Lorne Waldman, who represents the group Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care.

Refugee health-cuts ruling appealed by Ottawa – Politics – CBC News.

And Erna Paris in a Globe op-ed on a series of related refugee issues:

We did this because we remembered that a meaner Canada had refused entry to a shipload of desperate Jewish refugees from Nazism 40 years before.

That prewar mean-mindedness is back. Canada’s refugee determination system needed updating, but the Harper government has gone much too far. It has been accused of breaching international law, breaching the Constitution, and – just as important – breaching the values Canadians have defined themselves by.

Canadian mean-mindedness is back 

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Can Canada duplicate its boat people rescue with Syrian refugees? | Toronto Star

2014/09/30 Leave a comment

Fascinating history of Canada’s response to the Vietnamese boat people and the people involved from both the government and non-government sides. Well worth reading and reflecting upon, and their suggestions for refugees by connecting sponsored cases with businesses relying on low-skilled Temporary Foreign Workers:

Three and a half decades later, Adelman, Molloy and Alboim wondered if the courage and leadership that characterized the boat people rescue effort could be transferred to the Syrian refugee crisis.

They established a three-person task force to develop new strategies for refugee resettlement in Canada and crisscrossed the country talking to a variety of experts. In three reports discussing possible policies, they outlined projects that might revitalize refugee resettlement.

Their goal was ambitious: “to improve family reunification for refugees already in Canada, expand the pool of Canadians willing to sponsor refugees, improve the quality of support for government-assisted refugees and enhance labour market integration of refugees admitted to Canada under various resettlement programs.”

A core concern is the fact private refugee sponsorships, so successful in the “boat people” crisis, have atrophied and become the preserve of faith-based communities, ethnic and cultural groups.

They want to expand the base of people involved in sponsorships, creating more opportunities for groups such as book clubs, neighbourhood associations or unions, to become involved.

Can Canada duplicate its boat people rescue with Syrian refugees? | Toronto Star.

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Bill tabled to ban refugees from social assistance

2014/09/24 1 Comment

In keeping with the overall messaging and tone of the Government with respect to refugees and concerns about abuse.

As always, is this based on anecdote or are there reasonably firm numbers to back this concern? Or is it similar to birth tourism where in the end the evidence didn’t support the rhetoric?

Chisu, a Romanian-born Canadian, retired Canadian forces major and a first-term MP, was out of town and could not be reached for comment. Immigration Minister Chris Alexander declined to tell the Star’s inquiry if he would support the bill and referred any inquiry to Chisu.

While the bill says no minimum residency requirement would be allowed for Canadian citizens, permanent residents or victims of trafficking on a temporary resident permit, advocates are alarmed by the groups that are omitted and could suffer the effects of the bill.

They include refugee claimants still awaiting a decision; people whose bid for asylum failed; people who may be deported but are waiting for pre-removal risk assessments; people who have been allowed to stay in Canada on “humanitarian and compassionate” grounds, and sponsored spouses already in Canada.

Lastly, have there been consults with the provinces, as this pertains to their jurisdiction? Likely not yet, as it is a private members bill.

Hopefully, the Government has learned some lessons for the various mix-ups in PMB’s pertaining to criminal justice.

Bill tabled to ban refugees from social assistance | Toronto Star.

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