Health

1. In 1994, CCR passed a resolution urging the implementation of the recommendations outlined in "After the Door Has Been Opened" in regard to the mental health of refugee and immigrants;
2. There has been no documented implementation or follow-up on the recommendations;
3. There are limited and restricting resources for mental health services under the Interim Federal Health Program;

1. Refugees recognized in Canada have already undergone a medical on arriving in Canada;
2. CIC is interpreting the new immigration legislation to require a second medical, on application for permanent residence, where more than 12 months have passed since the first medical.
3. It is arbitrary, inefficient and discriminatory to target refugees simply because the waiting period between their arrival in Canada and their application for permanent residence exceeds 12 months.

1. The problems with the IFH program have been mounting.
2. The IFH Advisory Committee has become inactive.

1. 75% of GARs currently arriving in Canada have special needs.
2. Settlement agencies and sponsors are not equipped to respond to these special needs.
3. These special needs include urgent medical needs.

1. Some of the provincial health insurance plans (such as OHIP in Ontario) do not provide provincial health insurance coverage for “family members” of protected persons who are residing in Canada and who are being processed for permanent resident status simultaneously with the protected person;
2. It is a waste of resources to have to make a refugee claim for these family members in Canada just so that they will have IFH coverage;

1. Section 25(1) of IRPA grants the Minister broad discretionary authority to exempt an inadmissible person from any provisions of the Act or Regulations, if there are humanitarian and compassionate reasons for doing so;
2. The Regulations severely restrict this broad discretionary authority by requiring persons who are approved in principle for landing on H&C grounds to meet all admissibility requirements in order to be landed, including medical admissibility;
3. A person who receives a positive H&C decision and who is found medically inadmissible is refused landing and may face removal from Canada to a place where their life is at risk, or, if granted a temporary resident permit (TRP) for three years, may then be denied provincial health insurance coverage during the three year TRP period and thus face a risk to their life due to inability to access adequate medical care in Canada;
4. Applying the criterion of medical inadmissibility to a person who has been granted approval in principle on H&C grounds constitutes discrimination contrary to section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is an improper fettering of the Minister’s discretion under section 25(1) of IRPA;

The US Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children has prepared a Reproductive Health General Statement that outlines challenges to comprehensive reproductive health care for women, men and youth in conflict-affected settings and calls for increased funding and political support for reproductive health services;

1. The needs of persons with mental health issues are not being adequately addressed by any of the divisions of the IRB;
2. The guidelines for vulnerable persons do not meet these needs;

1. Refugees and other uprooted people who have HIV/AIDS or terminal illnesses are struggling with multiple complex issues with a sense of urgency;
2. Refugees and other uprooted people who live with HIV/AIDS or suffer from terminal illnesses lack family support in Canada, which is crucial to their wellbeing and support for children in the case of their death;