refugees

Dubé wants to end health coverage uncertainty for Ukrainians

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / November 27, 2024 / Christian Dubé, immigration, RAMQ, refugees, Ruby Pratka, Ukraine

Dubé wants to end health coverage uncertainty for Ukrainians

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Health Minister Christian Dubé has said the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government will not let Ukrainians fleeing war fall through the cracks in the province’s health insurance system, after many recently arrived Ukrainians reported difficulties renewing their health cards.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), at least 300,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada under two federal emergency programs designed to allow people affected by the war to find temporary safety here. Although IRCC does not keep track of where visa recipients settle after their arrival in Canada, Ukrainian community leaders in Quebec estimate that about 40,000 Ukrainians have settled in the province, 35,000 in the greater Montreal area and several hundred in Quebec City, Lévis and the surrounding rural areas. In light of the ongoing war, many Ukrainians who have settled in Quebec under the emergency measures have applied for work permit extensions or begun the permanent residence application pro- cess. Applicants subsequently learned that their work permit renewals were approved, but their provincial health insurance coverage would not be prolonged beyond early 2025, explained Olga Lacasse of the Alliance Ukrainienne de Québec (AUQ). They are now waiting for clarification from the Régie d’assurance-maladie du Québec (RAMQ).

“It left a lot of uncertainty, because paying for everything out of pocket is very expensive,” Lacasse said. “We have a lot of young mothers and senior citizens. At the beginning, [work permit holders] were told their work permit and their health coverage would be valid for the same amount of time. They had work permits valid into 2024 and 2025. They were told to apply for new work permits. They did that, and the validity of their work permit was prolonged, but not their health coverage.”

“Quebecers opened their homes and their hearts and their wallets to Ukrainians at the beginning of the war, and it was disheartening to hear that that support might be over … telling people they have until February to get things figured out,” said Michael Shwec, the Montreal-based head of the Quebec branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

An IRCC spokesperson noted that health care and health insurance coverage are subject to provincial jurisdiction. A spokesperson for the RAMQ referred a request to the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS).

On Nov. 20, Dubé posted on X, “We’re still in discussions with the federal government, but we would like to prolong their coverage. Quebec made a commitment to [Ukrainians] and we will keep it.” Further details were not available at press time.

Local community recognizes historic famine

On Nov. 23, about 30 members of the local Ukrainian community, including several recently arrived refugees, met at the newly established Ukrainian community centre in Beauport to honour the victims of the Holodomor, a Soviet- era engineered famine which emptied Ukraine of a quarter of its population in 1932 and 1933. Over three million people died, thousands of others were exiled and many who remained ate shoe leather and hunted crows to stave off starvation. Ukrainian communities around the world honour survivors in November by lighting candles, breaking bread and reading witness statements from survivors. This is the second time a ceremony has been held for the small and growing number of Ukrainians in Quebec City, explained AUQ cofounder Bohdana Porada. “It’s a wound that will never heal, but we survive and we remember.”

Several speakers made connections between the Holodomor, the 2014 Crimea conflict and the current war. Viktor Grayvoronsky, 84, a university professor from Kharkiv and grandson of Holodomor survivors, arrived in Quebec less than two weeks ago, after the apartment building he was living in was bombed. “There’s no famine now, but we still have our neighbours trying to kill us,” he said. “It’s just so sad.”

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Migrant spring: Montrealers demand country-wide regularization

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / March 18, 2024 / immigration, migrant workers, migrants, refugees, regularization, status for all

Photo Sarah-Maria Khoueiry

Sarah-Maria Khoueiry
Local Journalism Initiative

Demonstrators mobilized in Montreal’s Parc-Extension neighborhood on March 17 for a protest organizers called the “migrant spring.” It happened in parallel with other protests all over the country organized by the Migrant Rights Network.

Attendees demanded the regularization of undocumented people living in Canada, and an end to the deportation and detention of those who don’t have status.

In December 2023, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced his intention to create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Speakers at the protest said they have been waiting for almost three years for a regularization program promised by the Trudeau government, and that Miller’s plan, though a step in the right direction, might not be inclusive enough.

“We demand a regularization program that is accessible and that is without exclusions, for everyone,” said Susana Ponte Rivera, an organizer with the women’s committee of the Immigrant Workers Centre. She emphasized the necessity of a collaboration between the federal and provincial government to allow for a better treatment of migrants. “As we march, we will never forget that Canada is a colonial state. No one is illegal in a colonial state.”

Quebec Premier François Legault has previously said that Quebec cannot accommodate any more asylum seekers. In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 15, Legault asked for full power over immigration in the province—a request that was denied.

Ponte Rivera also highlighted the role of Canadian mining companies in Latin America in the “displacement of populations that cause people to migrate,” as well as denounced the new visa requirements imposed on Mexicans.

“It’s very ironic that in North America, in the land of imperialism, we value so much people doing the best they can to improve their living conditions, [following the] American dream, yet there is so much violent against migrants,” she said.

Some migrant workers brought up in their speeches the psychological and physical abuse they went through, citing the allegations of an airline caterer exploiting foreign workers made in October 2023. They emphasized how difficult it is to heal from these experiences and move on and asked for reparations and regularization for those who have been subject to labour exploitation.

In her speech, Ramatoulaye Diallo, the treasurer of the Conseil Central du Montréal Métropolitain, called for the immediate abolition of closed work permits, which she says facilitate abuse in the workplace.

“It’s like modern-day slavery,” said Diallo. “Let’s not be afraid of using these words. It’s systemic racism.”

One protester, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, denounced the use of immigrants as scapegoats to current provincial and federal crises.

“[Politicians] have cut back on spending on social fields, education, health, housing… for decades, and now it’s very convenient that these migrants, who have driven out of their homes because of the interference of the Western governments, are going to take the brunt of the attack,” they said. “It’s unacceptable.”

Many shared this sentiment as chants called for solidarity with undocumented people, and the recognition of the importance of migrant workers and refugees in society.

“[Canadians] might get something back from the refugees who became permanent residents,” said Gaurav Sharma, an organizer with the Immigrant Workers Centre. “They might build businesses and revenue will regrow, children will go to schools and become good citizens.”

Diallo echoed his thoughts, stating that migrants contribute to the cultural wealth of the country.

“Thousands of women and men work in essential sectors, in hospitals, take care of our children, sick people, and older people. [They] work in all sectors, but our strength lies in our solidarity.”

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