Court says refugee health care cuts unconstitutional

Diocese urges care and compassion for refugees and those seeking protection

Posted July 4, 2014

In what could be a landmark ruling, the Federal Court is giving the government four months to change its unconstitutional cuts to refugee health care. Judge Anne Mactavish concluded that those affected by the cuts to the interim federal health program (IFHP), namely refugees and those seeking protection, face treatment that is “cruel and unusual”. The court ruling states that the changes to the IFHP particularly affects, but not exclusively, children who have been brought to this country by their parents. The ruling goes on to assert that these changes "potentially jeopardize the health, and indeed the very lives, of these innocent and vulnerable children in a manner that shocks the conscience and outrages Canadian standards of decency."

Refugee protestIn reacting to the court's decision, the Reverend Bill Mous observed that "the arc of the moral universe had bent towards justice once again." He added that this was a significant day for refugee rights in Canada. For the past three years, the Diocese has raised grave concern about the impact of the IFHP changes. This concern in a variety of ways including local Anglicans standing up for the rights of refugees alongside Hamilton healh care providers as part of a National Days of Action.

Since 2012 privately sponsored refugees along with refugee claimants and others were only eligible for care if urgent or essential, while other refugees were afforded expanded services that include prescription coverage and preventative care. As a sponsor of refugees, the Diocese was concerned that the changes to the IFHP were both unfair and detrimental to so many of our neighbours. Moreover, we believe that refugees and those seeking protection deserve our country's care and compassion. In solidarity with the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), of which the Diocese is a member, we urge the government to reinstate the Interim Federal Health Program as it existed before the cuts.

A summary of the Federal Court ruling can be found here. Immigration Minister Chris Alexander has indicated that the federal government will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. More information about this issue can also be found on the CCR website

Globally, there are almost 17 million refugees with over 690,000 refugees currently awaiting resettlement. Recent reports also indicate that close to 51 million people are forcibly displaced, the highest number since World War II. Learn more about their stories by visiting the UN High Commission for Refugees website.