US Travel Ban Raises Questions

 

Yesterday during question period Brian Masse M.P. (Windsor West) asked the government if it had secured on-going access to US urgent care medical services for residents in border communities.  Several border communities have shared medical services.  In the Windsor-Essex region this system is most typically accessed in urgent care situations with patients in ambulatory care.

In his response Minister Hussen repeated broad talking points on the Trudeau Government’s position on the Travel Ban but did not specifically address the question of access to cross-border medical services.

In order to clarify this crucial question Masse wrote the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – the Honourable Ahmed Hussen. “We need to have perfect clarity with respect to the access to cross-border urgent care services.  These are quite literally life or death decisions that medical teams will make for patients in our community.   Medical service providers making decisions on appropriate treatment options must have accurate and reliable information around the availability of resources – or the lack thereof.” Masse stated.

Masse is encouraging anyone seeking answers to contact the Trudeau Government: “There is extreme urgency to determine exactly the full scope of the Travel Ban insofar as these services are concerned.  I am calling on stakeholders in the medical sector as well as the community as a whole to focus the government’s attention on this important issue.” Masse added.

 

The Right Hon. Justin Trudeau – Prime Minister of Canada

Phone: 1 613 995-0253

Email: pm@pm.gc.ca

 

The Hon. Ahmed Hussen – Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Phone: 1 613 995-0777

Email: [email protected]

 

Click on the link below to see a copy of the letter Mr. Masse sent to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Here is Mr. Masse’s Question from yesterday’s Question Period with the Government’s response:

 

Brian Masse MP (Windsor West):

Mr. Speaker, our border communities rely on shared medical services for urgent medical care in the United States. These life and death health emergencies include care for pregnant women, new mothers, and newborn infants at risk. Under the American travel ban, Canadians are at risk of dying in an ambulance waiting at the border.

Can the Prime Minister assure us today that there will be no delay or no denial of these critical health emergencies, or will we wait for somebody to die?

Hon. Ahmed Hussen (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada):

Mr. Speaker, we have received assurances from the United States that Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents with valid permanent resident cards will not be denied entry into the United States as a result of this executive order. We have been continually engaged with our counterparts since the executive order came out. We commit to continue to work with our American counterparts and to inform the Canadian public. We will monitor the situation closely and make sure we stand for Canadian values.

 

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