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OTTAWA Elderly immigrants cost the government approximately $3billion annually in health care, while those over 50 who haveworked have never reported earning more than $15,000 a year,figures obtained by Postmedia News suggest. The figures are contained in a memo produced just three monthsbefore the government froze the parent and grandparent stream andintroduced a 10-year, multiple entry supervisa that requiresvisiting relatives to show proof of a year's worth of healthinsurance as a stopgap measure while Ottawa deals with a hugebacklog in applications. It suggests the government which isn't shy about favouringeconomic immigrants wasn't just trying to be fair as it got ridof the backlog, but that it also has grave concerns about the costof accepting elderly immigrants given their low earning potential. Released through access to information and prepared for ImmigrationMinister Jason Kenney in "response to a request forinformation regarding the cost of health care to senior immigrantsand the contribution that parents and grandparents make tohousehold income," the memo is also raising questions aboutwhether Canada might be moving toward a two-tier health care systemfor newcomers. It suggests some 2,712 refugees over the age of 65 cost thegovernment $7.4 million in 2000-2010. Meanwhile, in 2010 some 5,655 parents and grandparents over the ageof 65 arrived in Canada at a cost of about $10,742 per year eachfor health care. Based on data collected between 1980 and 2010, Citizenship andImmigration estimates there were about 275,000 immigrant parentsand grandparents over 65 living in Canada in 2010 at a cost ofnearly $3 billion a year for health care. The total cost for a newcomer senior who lives to age 85 years wascited at about $160,000. According to data collected by Citizenship and Immigration between1980 and 2000, none of the parents and grandparents who arrived inCanada aged 50 or older have reported annual employment earningsthat exceed $15,000. A Commons committee has called already for the controversialsupervisa to be made permanent and last month, the governmentannounced it also was cutting certain health benefits to refugees,which touched off a wave of protest among physicians. In an interview Thursday, Kenney rejected the notion that Canadawas moving toward a two-tiered health care system for immigrantsbut indicated a premium aimed at defraying health care costs issomething the government is considering as it consults withstakeholders in a bid to reform the parent and grandparent stream,which is on hold for two years. "One idea has been to require families to put down some kindof a health care bond for sponsoring parents or grandparents. Theywould pay up front for a portion of the health care costs thattheir parents would use in Canada," he said. "Family sponsorship is a privilege, not a right. We arecommitted to family reunification within our system but it has tobe linked to our scarce public resources. It's not fair for us toraise taxes on Canadians to pay for future health care costs forfolks who've never lived in the country or paid taxes in it." Outspoken Vancouver-based immigration lawyer Richard Kurland saidhe thinks $150,000 up front would be reasonable and that manyimmigrants he's spoken with are more than willing to pay a premium. He envisions a "hybrid" system that includes a"money" stream for those willing to pay and a"freebie" stream in which provinces which areresponsible for the delivery of health care tell the federalgovernment how many parents and grandparents they're willing toabsorb on the public dime. Critics, however, see it all as the erosion of family reunificationas a key tenet of Canada's immigration system which they alsosay is increasingly favouring the rich. "The level of coverage we are requiring people to buy fortheir family member who visits and the fact that it all has to bepaid for in advance to qualify for the supervisa means effectivelythere's a huge swath of people in Canada who will no longer be ableto even have their parents at their child's bar mitzvah orwedding," Queen's University law professor Sharry Aiken said. "I'm very concerned about this shift because what it's sayingis family reunification is for those who can afford to pay." NDP immigration critic Jinny Sims added her office gets daily callsfrom people who have been denied a supervisa, many of them fromChina, India, Pakistan and the Philippines. She said she believes any move toward a two-tiered health caresystem for immigrants would be "so unCanadian" and thatparent and grandparent reunification, in particular, has spinoffbenefits the government must not overlook. Parents and grandparents, she said, often assist with childcare,which allows both parents to work. For newcomers from one-childpolicy countries like China who come through the economic streamsfavoured by the Conservatives, she said, the freedom to bringparents and grandparents over is a key reason they chose Canada. "Granting seniors a supervisa . . is no replacement forfamily reunification and what every family desires, which is tohave their parents or grandparents close to them," Sims said. Postmedia News has obtained updated figures on the parent andgrandparent supervisa poised for release Friday that show anapproval rate of about 83 per cent. Some 4,425 applications have been processed, on average withineight weeks of receipt, since the visa was introduced. Of them,3,684 were approved, 20 were withdrawn and 741 were denied, mostlybecause the applicants did not meet the criteria, which requiresponsors to have a minimum income of $22,637 if they're single ornearly $60,000 for a family of seven. They must also complete amedical exam and show proof of insurance. Twitter.com/tobicohen. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Stainless Steel Charm Bracelets , China Western Jewelry Rings for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Dangle Earrings For Women.
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