Voyageur 42
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Canada Now Spending $1 Billion a Year on Healthcare for Refugee Claimants
The Interim Federal Health Program - which covers hospital care, dental, vision, and prescriptions for asylum claimants - will hit $1 billion in annual costs for the first time, according to a new Parliamentary Budget Officer report. That's a five-fold increase from $211 million six years ago, and the PBO projects it will reach $1.5 billion by 2030.
The program currently covers 611,000 people, up from 130,000 in 2016. About 300,000 foreign nationals are waiting for their refugee claims to be reviewed, which takes roughly 24 months. Benefits continue even after a claim is rejected, until the claimant exhausts all appeals.
The Conservatives were quick to point out that rejected asylum claimants receive better health coverage than most Canadians - dental, vision, and pharmacare are all included, none of which are covered under standard provincial health plans. The Carney government has announced modest reforms starting May 1, including $4-per-prescription copays and 30 percent cost-sharing on supplemental services like counselling and dental.
Read more: National Post
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Ottawa Still Expects 300,000 Ukrainian Visa Holders to Go Home
Nearly 300,000 Ukrainians came to Canada through an emergency work and study visa program after Russia's full-scale invasion almost four years ago. Immigration Minister Lena Diab recently admitted that many of them are here to stay. But the department's official position hasn't changed - it still expects them to return when the war ends.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is pushing for a dedicated permanent residency stream, since most of these visa holders don't have enough points to qualify through express entry. So far, only about 2,500 of the 300,000 have received permanent residency through conventional channels.
For those trying the humanitarian route, the wait time is more than 10 years. Canada is also cutting its overall permanent residency admissions, which makes the bottleneck worse. If a peace deal happens and Ottawa holds to its position, hundreds of thousands of people who've built lives in Canada could face an impossible choice.
Read more: Global News