In Manitoba, a coalition of fifteen
organizations is demanding Healthcare For All! The coalition is calling
on the government to legislate comprehensive and free healthcare
coverage to all residents of Manitoba regardless of immigration status,
including refugee claimants, migrant workers, international students,
dependent
children of temporary residents, and undocumented residents.
There
are many people who have no health insurance, or costly private
insurance which provides only partial coverage. International students
were covered by the public health care plan until 2018 when the
government removed coverage, a move it said would "save" $3 million.
International students are considered "cash cows" and pay
exorbitant tuition fees, which in Manitoba are on average more than
three times the tuition paid by Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
"The government should stop treating humans as numbers for economic
purposes, but see value in us and extend health coverage to us," Judith
Oviosun, the provincial campaigns co-ordinator for the Manitoba
chapter of the Canadian Federation of Students, said at a news
conference on November 25.
International students and migrant workers without a Manitoba health
care card also face another problem, that because they don't have a
health care card, they cannot get a proof of vaccine card required by
employers, and to access businesses and many facilities.
Migrant workers with a work permit for less than a year are denied
public health care, and must find their own coverage. Workers who have
fallen out of status are not eligible for health care. Private health
care coverage is usually limited to emergency procedures, says Diwa
Marcelino, an organizer with Migrante Manitoba.
Because
health care coverage is tied to their work permit with one employer,
this makes migrant workers more vulnerable in the face of harassment,
bad working conditions and discrimination, Marcelino said. "Migrant
workers need health care as a right. They don't need health care to be
put over their head like a dangling carrot for them to
shut up and be quiet and continue to be exploited by their employers,"
he said.
Healthcare for All has started a petition on the Canadian Federation
of Students website, which had nearly 500 signatures as of November 24.
The opposition NDP has committed to repeatedly reading the petition in
the Manitoba Legislature in an effort to push the government to turn
back the clock.
The petition calls on the government of Manitoba:
-
To immediately provide comprehensive and free healthcare coverage to
all residents of Manitoba regardless of immigration status, including
refugee claimants, migrant workers, international students, dependent
children of temporary residents, and undocumented residents. This must
be
permanently enshrined in legislation.
-
To urge the Minister of Health to undertake a multilingual
communication campaign to provide information on expanded coverage to
all affected residents.
- To
urge the Minister of Health to inform all healthcare institutions and
providers of expanded coverage for those without health insurance and
the details on how necessary policy and protocol changes will be
implemented.
-
To urge the Minister of Health to create and enforce strict
confidentiality policies and provide staff with training to protect the
safety of residents with precarious immigration status and ensure they
can access health care without jeopardizing their ability to remain
in Canada.
To sign the petition, click here.
This article was published in
Voluem [volume] Number [issue] - December 1, 2021 - No. 114
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO081144.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
