Report From Parliament Hill

Eric Melillo, MP, Kenora—Kiiwetinoong

Dear Constituents

The Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed what many Canadians have known for a long time: Canada’s healthcare system is broken. At a time when 6 million Canadians can’t find a family doctor and are waiting for care, rejected asylum claimants are receiving more comprehensive health benefits than Canadians. This will cost taxpayers more than $1.5 billion annually within the next 5 years.
These rejected asylum claimants are now receiving much better healthcare than many Canadians who have paid into our healthcare system their entire lives. Secondary benefits like vision care, home care and even speech therapy are being covered by the Liberals after they expanded the program. For northern regions such as ours, healthcare is already stretched thin, difficult to access, and on its breaking point.
The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) was meant to provide basic primary healthcare to those who truly needed help on their road to starting a new life in Canada. It was meant to be temporary. But after Liberal expansions and upgrades to the program, rejected asylum claimants receive secondary benefits and services that many Canadians struggle to access in our own provincial systems. Many Canadians cannot find a family doctor, wait times are rapidly growing, and families are forced to drive long distances as they’re unable to get care close to home. This is only the latest example of Liberal mismanagement of our immigration system.
Conservatives already stepped up to the plate with straightforward solutions to alleviate the pressure on Canada’s healthcare system. A common-sense solution is removing federal benefits from ineligible claimants, except for emergency healthcare. We need to make sure there are enough homes, enough jobs, and that enough healthcare capacity exists before expanding programs that strain our system any further.
Working for You
If you’re visiting Ottawa and would like to take a tour of Parliament, please get in touch. My office would be happy to help you reserve tour tickets.
As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, please call me at 807-223-2182 (Dryden) or 807-468-2170 (Kenora) or email me at eric.melillo@parl.gc.ca.

Sincerely, 
Eric Melillo 
Member of Parliament 
Kenora—Kiiwetinoong