Work permit-linked health coverage technicality distressing for pregnant woman who can’t afford prenatal care

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This article was published 09/06/2023 (1175 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

People who hold work permits in Manitoba are being denied health coverage on a technicality, the Manitoba Liberal party leader says.

“There’s just no justification for denying people this health care,” said Dougald Lamont, MLA for St. Boniface.

Work permit holders and their family members are eligible for provincial health coverage as long as their permit is valid for at least 12 months, under Manitoba legislation. No health coverage is provided if the work permit is valid for less than a year.

“It can be just a couple of days short,” Lamont said, and coverage will be denied. The Liberals first raised the issue in the legislature in April after four constituents came forward to report the same problem.

Princess Egharevba was one of them. The human-resources recruiter is expecting her second child but hasn’t been able to access prenatal care because the out-of-pocket costs are too high. When her two-year-old son fell off a high chair at daycare earlier this week and hit his head, she said the resulting hospital visit was more than $300.

“He’s fallen sick a couple of times,” she said. “I have to pay out of pocket, which is extremely expensive.”

Egharevba is from Nigeria and moved to Winnipeg last year on a post-graduate work permit after completing her studies. By the time the permit was approved, her passport was less than a year away from expiry, so the permit was granted only for the length of time her passport was valid. She has about seven months left on her work permit, and when she spoke with the Free Press she was in Ottawa trying to get her passport renewed so she can apply for a work-permit extension and qualify for health coverage. She then plans to apply for permanent residency in Canada.

The initial blood work for her pregnancy cost about $200, and Egharevba said she hasn’t had any prenatal visits.

“I am frustrated because I can’t believe I am experiencing this,” she said. “I don’t even know if my baby is healthy, and I’m worried sick about this.”

She received a letter of support from her doctor, and the Liberals wrote to the health minister on Egharevba’s behalf, urging Manitoba Health to provide her prenatal care.

When the issue has been raised in the legislature, Health Minister Audrey Gordon has said it’s the federal government’s responsibility.

“The Department of Health has been working very closely with individuals who’ve come forward with this concern, and I call on the members of the Liberal party to call their federal counterparts and really begin to move this issue forward in terms of the work permits’ expiry dates,” Gordon said during question period on April 24.

A provincial government spokesperson said Friday that Gordon has “had conversations with the federal minister regarding the way work permits are classified.”

A spokesperson for the federal Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship told the Free Press Friday that health coverage for work-permit holders is a provincial responsibility and deferred questions to the Manitoba government.

“We’re asking the province to do their job,” Lamont said, emphasizing that health care delivery is a provincial government responsibility and it’s not up to the provincial Liberals to work with the federal government on it, as Gordon suggested in the legislature.

“If you’re going to say, we want you to come here from another country to work, but we’re going to deny you health care, how are we going to attract and keep people in this province?” Lamont added.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew has also written letters calling for action from the government on behalf of work-permit holders who’ve reached out to his office, a spokesperson said Friday.

The Free Press has sought comment from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com