Sanctuary City Community Forum, July 2, 2014, 6 pm

Friends and community members!

Join us for a light dinner and a Community Forum on the topic of building a Sanctuary City in the Lower Mainland. Based on consultations over the last few months, we will be:
1) Giving a brief overview of work that has happened so far and presenting a draft list of necessary principles for our campaign
2) Discussing proposals for creating a Sanctuary City (or Sanctuary Cities) here, including sector-specific proposals for service providers
3) Outlining and discussing ways for each of us to get involved in organizing towards a community where all members, regardless of status, can access services without fear

LOCATION: 215 West 2nd Ave, Vancouver, BC, Unceded Coast Salish Territories. We will be meeting on the east side of the building (entrance off of West 2nd Ave)

DATE/TIME: Wednesday July 2, 2014, 6-9pm

ACCESSIBILITY: West 2nd staff have confirmed that the washrooms and doors are wheelchair accessible. We are meeting on ground floor. For any other accessibility inquiries, please get in touch with us.

***Please note that while everyone is welcome to attend, we ask that attendees do not use this meeting to promote their interests in upcoming civic elections. Thank you. If you have any questions regarding the forum, please do not hesitate to contact us at sanctuaryhealthvancouver@gmail.com.

CHILDCARE (on site) also available upon request. Email us at sanctuaryhealthvancouver@gmail.com.

STOP CUTS TO REFUGEE HEALTH CARE RALLY - NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION JUNE 16th

Please join us Monday June 16th at noon @ 300 West Georgia St (infront of the immigration & refugee board offices) to stand up for health care for all people regardless of status! and tell our communities and government that we oppose the IFHP cuts.Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/649663168454377/

Interim Federal Health Progran Cuts Petition

We are all human, we all get injured, we all get sick:
Health Care is a Right for Everyone

A Refugee is any person who is forced to leave their home country for life-saving reasons. Canada is a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 UN Protocol on the Status of Refugees and has in the past been a global leader in the provision of respectful treatment of those seeking refuge – this is changing quickly.

The recent drastic changes to the Interim Federal Health Program now deny approximately 95% of refugees in Canada all access to primary and preventative health care as well as the supplemental health care that is provided for many low-income Canadians. The Conservative government has promoted the cuts as only removing health care “extras” – but prenatal care, medicine, lab testing and the other affected services are vital elements of good healthcare.

Most refugees can now only access medical care in cases of life-threatening emergency. Refugees who are from “Designated Countries of Origin” (DCO) cannot even access these limited emergency-only services. A DCO is anywhere that Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, says is a ‘safe’ place – as we all know, no country can be safe for every person.

The only health services that all refugees are now technically entitled to are in cases of ‘public health concern’ (someone with a highly infectious disease) or ‘public security concern’ (someone with a psychotic condition that the state or a doctor considers dangerous to the public). This policy basically says that refugee medical care should only be provided to protect “us” from “them”, pitting people who have citizenship in Canada against those who have less secure status in this country.

These cuts will leave many people sick and injured without proper care, overloading the already overcrowded emergency rooms and forcing the provinces to pick up the bill. Ultimately this creates a kind of medical apartheid, where some people are “worth” health care while people who are actually among those most in need are abandoned.

These changes are happening at a time when all immigrants (even those who have permanent residency or citizenship), refugees and undocumented people in Canada are facing policies of increased scrutiny and widespread threats of deportation. Health-care providers and community groups across the country are organizing to support refugees and undocumented people’s health care needs, despite the Federal Government’s cruel actions.

We believe in health care for all, provided as a human right regardless of where you are from or how much money you have,


Signed,

"Sanctuary city policy should not simply re-brand the city, but represent a "shift in culture, to be able to see people as people and not as different categories of people who are deserving or not deserving."

http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/05/29/Vancouver-Undocumented-Migrants-Sanctuary/

Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto has just released a shocking study about the impacts of the Tory government's refugee health care cuts.

In an unprecedented move, doctors have been taking public action against the cuts, including a third national day of protest on June 16th, 2014: http://cdrcdayofaction.com/

Fore more on the study:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/ending-health-care-for-refugees-has-put-children-in-grave-danger/article18679568/

http://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2014/05/15/refugee_kids_hospital_admissions_doubled_after_ottawas_health_cuts.html