On Monday, April 16, 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had announced a major change to Canada’s immigration policy. The Canadian government changed a policy that will be easier for people with disabilities and their family members to immigrate to Canada. Months ago, a report was released that showed major flaws in the way that Canada handles permanent residency applications for people with disabilities. The announcement on Monday was a response to this discovery.
Known as “medical inadmissibility” allows Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to deny people permanent residency in. Canada because they or an immediate family member may have a disability or medical condition. The reason a disability or medical condition may cause a denied application is because if they become a permanent resident then the public will fund their health and social service programs.
The policy change on Monday explains that the government can no longer consider social service or health spending when deciding whether someone can immigrate to Canada or not. The decision to change the policy has been extremely meaningful to many families looking to immigrate to Canada for a better life, a job, or school. The Immigration Minister, Ahmed Hussen, said that the changes will take effect immediately. He also explained that those who have been denied in the past are welcomed to reapply if they wish to be considered now that their block has been lifted.
Samrat Saha, 38, whose family was denied permanent residency in Canada last May because his six-year-old son, Rajarshi, has autism was beyond ecstatic to hear the news about the policy change. “After getting the good news – I was driving so I had to be careful – I was pretty excited” said Samrat. “We’ve all been waiting for this change for a long time,” he said. “Because disability is not by choice, its by birth right? And I don’t think anybody should be discriminated against based on their disability.” Samrat Saha is a software engineer with an advanced university degree who wanted to expand his work into Canada but was held back by the former medical inadmissability law. There are hundreds of stories like the Saha’s, but with the new policy in place Canada is hoping to not let this happen to people with disabilities again.
