Communique

 

RCMP Health Care
Prior to June 29, 2012, the federal Canada Health Act specifically excluded Royal Canadian Mounted Policy (RCMP) from the definition of “insured person” for provincial / territorial health insurance.
On June 29, 2012, via federal Bill C-38, the federal Canada Health Act was amended so that members of the RCMP are now included in the definition of an “insured person” and thus eligible to register under provincial and territorial health insurance programs. 19,000 Regular Members (i.e. trained and sworn Peace Officers) of the RCMP became eligible to register under provincial and territorial health insurance programs, resulting in cost savings for the federal government by downloading costs to PTs. However in the future, in some jurisdictions, costs of policing contracts with the federal government may decrease to help offset these costs.
Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP)
IFHP provides limited temporary coverage of health-care costs to protected persons who are not eligible for PT health insurance plans and where a claim cannot be made under private health insurance. These protected persons include resettled refugees, refugee claimants, certain persons detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and other specified groups.
In 2012, funding was reduced for health expenses for refugee claimants. The federal government effectively downloaded federal costs onto provincial health care systems. Changes to the IFHP may also contribute to an increase in requests for social assistance.

Analysis by the Wellesley Institute outlines several detrimental effects including negative impacts to basic health, greater reliance on emergency rooms and urgent care, greater administrative complexity, and particular risks to women and children.

Immigration Settlement Funding Formula
The federal government funds services that help newcomers settle and adapt to life in Canada, including free language training, information and referrals, etc.
In 2011, the federal government announced it would revise the settlement funding formula to reflect a province or territory’s share of immigrant intake, which will change the distribution of federal settlement funding.

The federal government has also reduced total spending on settlement services from $622 million in 2010-11 to $577 million in 2012-13.

Immigrant Investor Program (IIP)
The Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) attracts experienced business people to contribute to Canada’s growth and long-term prosperity by investing in Canada’s economy. Eligible investors must show that they have business experience, have a net worth of at least C$1,600,000 that was gained legally, and invest $800,000. This program was cancelled due to a large backlog in applications and poor integration of immigrant investors.
Applications for this program were stopped in July 2012 due to the backlog, and the program was terminated in June 2014. The Quebec Investor Program was not affected by this decision.

The termination of this program reduces foreign investment in provinces and territories. The average amount of investment from this program over the past three years is $2.35B/year.

The federal government has announced their intention to develop similar pilot programs, such as the Start-up Visa Program, which has stricter requirements.