More than 160 organizations have written to the finance minister urging him to drop a clause in the latest budget legislation that would allow provinces to cut funding for refugee claimants. As it now stands, provincial and territorial governments provide monthly cheques to help refugee claimants until they can establish themselves and find jobs.
The new measure is similar to the government’s previous decision to stop paying for health care for refugee claimants. That move was found to be “cruel and unusual” and thus, unconstitutional by the Federal Court.
Now the umbrella group, the Canadian Council for Refugees has joined organizations in a range of sectors including health, poverty, human rights, faith groups, refuges, women and legal advocates in asking the minister to withdraw the measure that would open the door to refugee claimants being denied social assistance payments.
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