Canada: Child with cerebral palsy "would create excessive burden" on social services

[alp227]

From intervention by the Immigration Ministry of Quebec, Canada has granted the Barlagne family, who has a daughter with cerebral palsy and is from the French island Guadeloupe, permanent residency. The family has lived in Montreal since 2005, and the father David Barlagne runs a software development business. The craziest part of the story?

Barlagne said officials at the Canadian Embassy in Paris granted him a temporary work permit after convincing him Canada was a great location for his software development business.

But when the Barlagnes applied to stay permanently in Canada, their bid was rejected on the grounds that Rachel's care would create an excessive burden on health and social services.

In 2010, a Federal Court judge ruled against a judicial review of the family's residency application.

The family's lawyer, Stéphane Minson, said Rachel's care would cost the system $5,259 per year.

Barlagne has maintained he is willing to pay for his daughter's care.

What? A government would seriously reject someone's permanent residency application because it'd cost too much to care for a disabled family member?

[BlueIris]

1. Shocker.

Not.

[murphyj87]

2. They would never....

They would never have gotten entry into the US. Why would they ever want to go to the US anyway, and be totally denied any health care at all for any of them?

It should be noted that this is in QUEBEC, which considers itself a nation unto itself and does not use Canadian law. Quebec, uses the Code de Napoleon, in other words the law of FRANCE, not Canadian law, so government and court decisions in Quebec have nothing to do with what would happen in any other province. I would expect nothing less IN QUEBEC, but it wouldn't happen in a real Canadian province.

[Kurovski]

3. Thanks for that info. (nt)

[raccoon]

4. Something like this in happened in Australia not too long ago.

Chorus of demands to let doctor Bernhard Moeller stay

Stephen Lunn, Social affairs writer
From: The Australian
November 01, 2008 12:00AM

THE Rudd Government is under pressure from all fronts, even Labor colleagues, to overturn a decision denying German doctor Bernhard Moeller permanent residency in Australia because his son Lukas has Down syndrome.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/chorus-of-demands-to-let-doctor-stay/story-e6frg6of-1111117915520


Ultimately the family was allowed to stay.

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-26/world/australia.down_1_syndrome-german-family-application?_s=PM:WORLD

[mimitabby]

5. canada legal residency

on the application forms they do want to know about your health.
If all the sick people of the USA moved to Canada it would seriously hurt their economy.

[ThomCat]

6. Canada Imigration policy officially discriminates against people with Disabilities.

That has been their law for decades now.

Anyone who has any reason to need and rely upon health care is automatically barred from entry into Canada. They and their family are precluded from moving to Canada and can be prevented even from VISITING Canada if the border guards think you can reasonably be "predicted in advance to require medical care as the result of an existing condition" while you are there.

Basically, they do not want anyone who is not already a Canadian citizen to use their health care system expect for on an emergency or unexpected basis. Period!

Efforts to overturn this blatant systematic discrimination against people with disabilities have repeatedly failed.

[Festivito]

8. Do we do that too? So we don't end up with people on Medicare and Medicaid?

Or do we just make up quotas so we can pick the best of the best at quietly low levels without writing the real reasoning behind why one immigrant makes it and another doesn't.

[ThomCat]

9. I don't know for sure.

I don't think so.

Until recently anyone with AIDS was barred from this country. That has recently been lifted.

If people with this one disability are now able to enter, it makes sense that people with disabilities as an entire category of people are not/were not barred. Disabilities, health conditions and diseases were probably handled individually in our immigration policy.

[Festivito]

7. Cost benefit analysis over the jobs he creates and the known cost of medical issues.

After all, the impetus to have him there was an economic decision as was the decision to deny final permanent residence.

Perhaps Canada should develop a buy-in charge, or arrange some money to come from France who previously cared for that family and no longer has that expense. I think that's how it would work in the States: the company would have to buy a more costly health insurance package, and may not be able to sustain a new company because of it.

Instead, were it a US person, they would have to disband the company, separate and have one spouse go on medicare -- becoming costly, and, non-productive.