Open letter to Prime Minister and Ministers of Health and Immigration

The United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) recently issued a landmark decision condemning Canada for denying access to essential health care on the basis of immigration status based on the case of Ms. Nell Toussaint. The UNHRC has called on Canada to review its national legislation in order “to ensure that irregular migrants have access to essential healthcare to prevent a reasonably foreseeable risk that can result in loss of life”. A number of members of Canada’s health community are signing an open letter, addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ministers Ginette Taylor and Ahmed Hussen, calling for federal government action around this issue.

Please consider signing the open letter.

Individual and organizational signatures are being collected until Friday, December 14th, 2018, with a plan for wide media release on International Migrants Day (December 18th). Please also share this among your colleagues, but do not share this directly with media, until the final letter with signatories has been released.

If you have any questions, please contact the team leading this initiative.