The five principles of the Canada Health Act flow from two overarching objectives for Canadian health care policy, namely that everyone in Canada should have timely access to all medically necessary health services, regardless of their ability to pay for those services; and that no one suffer undue financial hardship as a result of having to pay for health care. [...] Workers in these streams (e.g., in the agricultural and care work sectors), often earn low wages, have their immigration status tied to their employer, and have extremely limited access to health care and other forms of provincial and federal services. [...] In sum, these wait time policies are based on a premise (i.e., the prevention of “health tourism”) that doesn’t ap- ply to the specific population they affect (resettled refugees and new immigrants); they increase the costs to the health care system in the long terms; and they contradict the CHA’s principles of accessibility and universality. [...] In 2017, between 900 and 1,000 individuals and their families were deemed medically inadmissible to Canada because of the “excessive demand” provision.26 That same year, prior to the recommendation to repeal the pro- vision by the CIMM, the then Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen acknowledged that the provision is not compatible with Canadian values.27 As one witness be. [...] The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario said that roughly 26,000 nurses are ready and waiting to work in Ontario, but are unable to do so because of delays with their immigration process- es or foreign credential recognition.49 Access to health care for all migrants is integral to fulfilling the principles of accessibility and universality of the Canada Health Act.
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