changes coming for medical inadmissibility in canada by mid April: Hon imm. minister

OTTAWA – New steps will be announced when taking into account medical conditions into consideration for an acceptance or rejection of a Permanent Residence application by mid-April 2018, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said Thursday, Feb 15, 2018. The Minister along with the Liberal government have been under pressure for past few months to overhaul the medical inadmissibility provisions of Canada’s immigration law. Medical Inadmissibility allows Immigration Officers to refuse an applicant based on their medical history resulting in excessive demand to the Canadian govern- ment. Opposition of medical inadmissibility argue, inadmissibility based on excessive demand due to health reasons, is a cause for discrimination against people with disabilities in December, the House of Commons immigration committee recommended the entire provision be scrapped. Minister Ahmed Hussen admitted to the problem and stated. “The policy is out of step with Canadian values on accommodating people with disabilities.” He also advised the Federal government has been in consultation with provinces and territories. The Minister stated he wanted to review the House of Commons immigration committee’s own report before deciding on how to proceed. The response will come by April 12, Hussen said – the deadline for the government to respond to the report. “I will encourage you to wait for that response and in that response you’ll find how we’re proceeding on this issue,” he said. What is Excessive demand ? Currently an applicant can fall under two streams of excessive demand, excessive demand on health services and or social services. “Health services” is defined as any health services for which the majority of funds are contributed by governments, including the services of family physicians, medical specialists, nurses, chiropractors and physiotherapists, laboratory services and the supply of pharmaceutical or hospital care. “Social services” as any social services, such as home care, specialized residence and residential services, special education services, social and vocational rehabilitation services, personal support services and the provision of devices related to those services, 1.that are intended to assist a person in functioning physically, emotionally, socially, psychologically or vocationally and 2.for which the majority of the funding, including funding that provides direct or indirect financial support to an assisted person, is contributed by governments, either directly or through publicly-funded agencies. Measuring Cost of Excessive Demand The cost threshold is determined by multiplying the per capita cost of Canadian health and social services by the number of years used in the medical assessment for the individual applicant. This cost threshold is updated every year. Effective January 1, 2017, the updated cost threshold is $6,655 per year. This figure is usually multiplied by five (unless the anticipated length of stay is shorter than five years or there is evidence that significant costs are likely to be incurred beyond that period, in which case the period is no more than 10 consecutive years). This results in the legislated threshold of $33,275. Approximately 1,000 permanent residency applications are flagged each year for medical inadmissibility. It can lead to an entire family being rejected on the grounds that one member has a disability.