Mr. Speaker, when people access these benefits, it is because they need them. Imagine my constituent who was told that he could not have his dialysis anymore. Now he has a bill to pay to cover the period between his denied coverage to the point when his claim was finally reinstated. That is a shame.
The government continues to drive wedges and promote distrust. Nobody is arguing that there are no refugee claimants who do not have appropriate circumstances to support their claim. However, drastic changes like these are unguided at best.
What does the government have to say to the gentleman I represent who is out-of-pocket for dialysis for the period he lost his coverage? How did his situation change in any way beyond the outcome of an arbitrary decision and the funding gap that was unnecessary? He is still on the hook for expensive treatments, while his own case is being straightened out. This shows a true lack of concern for real refugee claimants and paints Canada in a negative way. Worse, there are many more cases like his across the country.
Why will the government not restore funding to health care for all refugee claimants and find other less dangerous ways to seek out illegitimate refugee claims?