March 2104
Here are 2 links. One is a link to a bold and unequivocal statement in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). This is a searing condemnation of Canadian Government actions harming the health of Canada’s refugee claimants, and the governments insistence on marginalizing professional healthcare voices.
The second link is the reply from Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2014/01/20/cmaj.131861.full.pdf+html
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2014/01/20/cmaj.131861/reply
This comment is ours:
Mr Alexander has stated again, and he is not alone, that Canada has one of the most generous approaches to refugees in the world. In his response in the CMAJ Mr Alexander writes ” Canada is second to none in its generosity and fairness towards newcomers, as demonstrated by our world-leading refugee resettlement system”.
The Minister has either been kept poorly informed by his staff, or he chooses to ignore the research of the United Nations and others. Data from 2010, reported by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees debunks Mr Alexanders oft repeated myth. Canada ranked 6th, behind Turkey and Portugal for acceptant rates for refugees. According to the OECD Canada ranked 13th, behind Luxembourg for intake of refugees per 100,000 population, and 16th in the world behind bankrupt Greece in % of total refugee inflow per country. In 2014 The United Nations reported that refugee claims to Canada dropped by over 50% in the past year.
This is due to Canada’s hardened immigration policies. Immigration policy is a Federal responsibility in Canada. But generosity and medical care, when urgently ill, are not.