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status.27 In Quebec, such public coverage would also be given to peo-
ple who are in the three-month waiting period.28 However, policies
concerning coverage for other health care services remain unchanged
in these provinces. This dichotomy between health care for COVID-
19 and that for other medical conditions raises practical challenges.
Do screening and treatment for suspected COVID-19 patients who
subsequently test negative for the virus count as COVID-19-related?
Likewise, when COVID-19 patients’ symptoms are intensified by
underlying medical conditions such as hypertension and diabetes,
would the cost of treating such comorbidities be paid by the gov-
ernment? No provincial authorities have provided ready answers to
these questions.
Uncertainty also abounds for previously uninsured migrants
when seeking to exercise their newly acquired health care entitle-
ment. Reportedly, not all health care facilities in relevant provinces
are aware of the policy changes, and some have continued to demand
payment from migrant patients for services that are supposed to be
free.29 For undocumented migrants, this disjunction between entitle-
ment and access is aggravated by their fear of detection and deporta-
tion. Although Canada has temporarily halted almost all deportations
in the wake of the pandemic,30 collection of personal data by the law
enforcement persists. In particular, as a part of its emergency mea-
sures during the pandemic, Ontario has granted its first responders
access to the personal information of individuals who test positive
27. “COVID-19 MCP Updates” (last modified 6 May 2020), online: Newfoundland and
Labrador Health and Community Services <health.gov.nl.ca/health/mcp/covid-19-
mcp-updates.html>; “Questions and Answers About Our Services During the
Pandemic” (last visited 9 May 2020), online: Régie de l’assurance maladie <ramq.
gouv.qc.ca/en/regie/press-room/Pages/questions-answers-services-during-
pandemic.aspx> [RAMQ Policy]; Rachel Bergen, “Though Few are Aware,
Newcomers in Manitoba Without Health Coverage Can Access COVID-19
Testing, Treatment”, CBC News (19 April 2020), online: <cbc.ca/news/canada/
manitoba/newcomers-manitoba-health-covid-19-1.5532114>.
28. RAMQ Policy, supra note 27.
29. See e.g. Emma Paling, “Migrants in Ontario Aren’t Getting the Free
Health Care They were Promised”, Huffington Post (22 April 2020), online:
<huffingtonpost. ca/entry/migrants-ontario-coronavirus-free-health-care_
ca_5ea062eec5b69150246c07f7>; Lisa-Marie Gervais, “Des soins liés à la COVID-
19 facturés à des sans-papiers”, Le Devoir (27 April 2020), online: <ledevoir.com/
societe/sante/577784/des-soins-factures-a-des-sans-papiers>.
30. Rachel Ward, “Canadian Border Officials Halt Most Deportations in Face of
COVID-19”, CBC News (18 March 2020), online: <cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/
cbsa-refugees-immigrants-deportations-1.5501334>.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Titel
- VULNERABLE
- Untertitel
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Autoren
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Verlag
- Ottawa Press
- Datum
- 2020
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Abmessungen
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Seiten
- 648
- Kategorien
- Coronavirus
- International