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Quebec seeks to extend health coverage to Ukrainian refugees
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Quebec seeks to extend health coverage to Ukrainian refugees

The Quebec government is working to find a way to maintain health care coverage for Ukrainian refugees in the province after it expires in March, Health Minister Christian Dubé announced Wednesday.

“We will find a solution,” Dubé said. “We will not abandon Ukrainian refugees.”

He said the provincial and federal governments are still discussing the situation, but “we want to expand their coverage.”

“Quebec has a commitment to them and we will respect it,” he declared.

Last August, Quebec sent notices to refugees, letting them know they would lose public health care coverage even if Ottawa extended their work permits until 2027.

Among the refugees who received a letter was Oleksii Smoliarchuk, who said it left him and his family perplexed because, as a worker, he pays the same taxes as everyone else. He looked into private insurance, but discovered it would cost him hundreds of dollars a month.

Other refugees found themselves in similar situations.

Of the 300,000 Ukrainians welcomed to Canada, 30,000 chose Quebec, including 25,000 in the Montreal region.

WATCH | Ukrainian refugees worry about loss of health care:

Ukrainian refugees lose health care in Quebec – while their country is still at war

While many Ukrainians living in the province since 2022 have work permits that will remain valid for several more years, Quebec has decided to end their health benefits, leaving some in difficult situations.

“The war is still there. The need for shelter is still there. We would like our MPs and our ministers to still show the compassion they had three years ago,” Michael Shwec said in an interview with Radio -Canada earlier this month.

He is president of the Quebec section of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. He grew up in Montreal, his family having immigrated here during the First World War.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Quebecers opened their doors and their wallets to help, he said, because it is part of their values. Then, he lamented, the provincial government seemed to simply say, “well, that’s it.”

In the case of asylum seekers or refugees, health coverage is automatic. But in this case, the Ukrainians arrived with an open work permit, which does not automatically offer them the same coverage.

It was a political decision to initially grant coverage to refugees until February 2025. Regardless of the decision of the province and the federal government, Ukrainian children will remain covered by Quebec Health Insurance Board (RAMQ), like all children living in Quebec regardless of the immigration status of the parents, under Law 83 adopted in 2021.