The article I chose to reflect on was Immigration Minister Jason Kenney Asks Canadians to Thank Him for Cuts to Refugee Health Benefits (Chartrand, 2012), from the National Post. I wanted to take a look at a conservative ideology when tackling this issue, and the National Post is one of Canada's more conservative newspapers. Also, Jason Kenney who happens to be Canada's current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism is part of the Conservative Party. Basically this article sheds light on Kenney's decision to reduce medical benefits for refugees (Chartrand, 2012). Refugees obtain benefits through The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), and as of last month, benefits such as prescriptions, vision care, pre-natal care, and dental work were eliminated (Chartrand, 2012). The rationale for this change is that conservatives don't want refugees to get benefits that aren't available to general Canadians. Many refugees come from 3rd world and developing nations, which means that they may have had lackluster medical care, if any at all.
While the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA, 2012), states that one of the main objectives of this act is about saving lives and offering protection, skimping on medical care for those who may greatly need it seems contradictory. Chartrand (2012) stated that Kenney keeps saying that refugees shouldn't get better care than tax-paying Canadians, even if they are new Canadians. Also, it would save the country money. Many doctors are in shock over this decision, and feel it is their responsibility is to "urge the government to minimize harm to children, pregnant women, trauma survivors and other vulnerable people" (Cleaveland & Rousseau, as cited in Chartrand, 2012).
Obviously, many refugees are coming here with trauma as a result of persecution, and mental health is a big concern. The Conservative Party is looking to put forth a new law that would detain refugee claimants over the age of 16 for a minimum of 2 weeks (Chartrand, 2012). According to doctors, this also impacts refugees in a deeply negative way, as psychiatric symptom levels rise astronomically. (Chartrand, 2012). They even went as far as to say that the suicide rate of refugees is 10 times higher than the general population (Chartrand, 2012). It is not only conservatives that feel this way either, it seems as though since the 1990s, there has been a social shift in the way Canadians view refugees. Many now think that refugees are just 'playing the system', being lazy, and are undeserving of the benefits they receive (Pratt & Valverde, 2002). Does this sound familiar? To me, it's reminiscent of the Poor Laws mindset, and many people are seeing refugees as undeserving. Alternatively, many people find Kenney's cuts racist, as many refugees are people of colour and historically, the conservative view on refugees and immigrants has been skeptical, especially when involving people of colour (Mullaly, 2007). Kenney also has a petition on his website, jasonkenney.ca where Canadians can thank him for cutting refugee's health benefits. Wow.Overall, I see Kenney's move as trying to pit Canadians against refugees. So many of them are in need of care, not just medical care, but the security in knowing that Canada wants to help them and Kenney's comments and actions seem to be the opposite of what IRPA (2012) was created for. Seeking refuge from one country's persecution only to come to a country that only sees you as a citizen minus must be heartbreaking. By the increased monitoring and investigation to prevent cheating the system (Mullaly, 2007), conservatives are instilling the ideas that refugees are in need of paternalism, cant be trusted, and incapable of caring for themselves. Also, by basing a person's level of care based on whether or not they pay taxes definitely reflects their ideology that those who spend come before those who don't.
Shannon
References
Chartrand, F. (2012, July 9). Immigration minister Jason Kenney asks Canadians to thank him for cuts to refugee health benefits. The National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/07
/09/immigration-minister-jason-kenney-asks-canadians-to-thank-him-for-cuts-to-refugee-health-benefits/
Department of Justice. (2012). Immigration and refugee protection act. (S.C. 2001, c. 27). http://laws-
lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.5/FullText.html
Mullaly, B. (2007). The new structural social work. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Pratt, A., & Valverde, M., (2002). From deserving victims to 'masters of confusion': Redefining refugees in the 1990s. The Canadian Journal of Sociology, 27 (2), 135-161.
In the post I wrote it states that Canada has one of the best health care systems in the world. I can clearly see why immigrants would want to make Canada their permanent residence. But with all of the cut backs on the health care system, it is making Canadians look like greedy people who do not want to share their health care with other deserving people. It is astonishing to me that we invite these people into our country with open arms and then pull the rug out from under their feet and reduce their health care. As if these people haven't gone through enough we decide to test their limitations and take away a necessity. This was a very insightful post.
ReplyDelete-Alannah
Shannon,
ReplyDeleteI often agree, being a history student that many immigrants coming to Canada have faced false promises, discrimination, poverty and struggle. I understand that immigrants to Canada have to spend a number of years struggling to get by before they can even receive a Canadian citizenship, along with proper health care. I have read in this article that there are advocates within the government that don’t believe refugees should receive beneficial healthcare in some ways that aren’t even available to general Canadians. Well, why can’t these health care benefits be available for all Canadians? Refugees want to come to Canada for a better life, but if their benefits are being cut, then Canada does not live up to its name as an accepting, beautiful place to live.
I have come to an understanding that these refugees and immigrants NEED this health care because they do not receive ANY of the benefits in their homeland. This often has refugees in worse health conditions than general Canadians when they first come to Canada. I understand why these cuts have worsened immigrant and refugee mental health and their suicide rate is 10% higher than that of general Canadians. I believe that if the government should not complain to reduce the health care for these people as they are our future Canadians and have come here for a new chance at life. They are also people that hugely contribute to our Canadian workforce and economy, without them we would not survive as a country. Canada is supposed to be an accepting nation, a peacekeeping nation that wants to move towards multi-cultural equality. But, this sounds like Canada is directing itself back to its past.
- Kara (poverty group)
I definitely agree with you, when reading this article I thought, 'well, why don't WE even have dental care, or prescription' coverage?' It shows too how even we are losing helpful benefits, and dental care plays a huge part in overall health.
DeleteShannon