2024-11-11 09:00:00
In a café in the Côte-des-Neiges district of Montreal, Zhanna caresses her belly which is starting to round and is delighted to be able to give birth to a child in a country at peace. However, there is a downside: his health insurance card will expire in February 2025, like that of many Ukrainians established here.
What worries her is that she doesn’t know if she will give birth just before or just after the end of her card’s validity period. The difference could cost him $30,000.
This young woman is from the Kharkiv region, devastated by bombs and now occupied by Russia. Arriving in Canada in October 2022, she benefited, like her husband, from the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization (AVUCU), created by the federal government from the start of the bombings.
With a degree in hospitality, Zhanna works as a room attendant in a Montreal hotel. Her husband is a cabinetmaker for a company. Immediately when we arrived in Quebec, we started working. Even now, I am 22 weeks pregnant and I continue to work, she emphasizes in very good French, which she had started to learn during an internship in Paris.
Ottawa decided this year to extend AVUCU until 2027. Zhanna, who wants to stay in Quebec, therefore renewed her open work permit for three years until October 2027.
She then wanted to renew her Quebec health insurance card, which was expiring in October 2024. To her great surprise, the new card was only valid until February 2025. “They only extended it for three months” , she said with disappointment and concern.
Her due date is February 28. But a week before, a week after, you never know when, she points out. If, for example, I gave birth in March 2025, I would no longer have a health insurance card [à ce moment-là]. That means I would have to pay for the birth.
The price of a birth in Quebec can reach $30,000. A single night spent in the hospital costs around $5,000.
It’s huge for people who are not rich, says Lena Leblanc, a Ukrainian who has lived in Quebec for a long time and volunteers with new arrivals.
They work for minimum wage. And if there are complications, if the baby is premature, if the mother needs something, if she has an infection, anything, it’s going to cost thousands and thousands of dollars.
A quote from Lena Leblanc, Ukrainian volunteer with new arrivals in Quebec
Zhanna and her husband will not be able to afford it. They wonder whether they should change provinces and go to Ontario, for example, to continue to benefit from health insurance. The idea does not enchant this 28-year-old woman, who loves Quebec and prefers to speak French.
Return to Ukraine? It’s very, very dangerous. I no longer have a house there because of the war, answers Zhanna. Almost all of her family and friends have left the country, while here she is well looked after. I have my mother, who also works, my father-in-law and my husband. We all live together. I’m not going to give birth there alone!
A mother in CHSLD
Sergiy, an employee of the City of Montreal, shows a photo on his phone. This is Mariupol, my mother’s house! A ruined building with glassless windows.
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This is where Sergiy’s mother lived until 2022, in Mariupol, Ukraine.
Photo: Sergiy
Sergiy’s mother, who is now 79 years old, no longer has a home or a husband, killed by a bombing, and no longer knows in which country she is. She’s losing her mind.
Her son realized this when he brought her to Canada and took her in with him at first. She had to be watched all the time: she could go outside and get lost. Losing her independence, she was able to be accommodated in a seniors’ residence with Ukrainian staff, then in a CHSLD in the Rosemont district, because the RPA closed in order to carry out renovation work.
Sergiy has just called the Régie de l’assurance santé du Québec (RAMQ). February next year is over, the official told him.
He already benefited from an extension, obtained by the office of the deputy for Rosemont, Vincent Marissal. This is discretionary coverage, as is sometimes granted out of the goodness of his heart. In this case, it was to avoid throwing an old lady with Alzheimer’s into the street.
But what will happen after the new deadline? We have to go back to the office again, do some [appels]make [démarches]sometimes personally, with the minister, replies the member for Québec solidaire, to obtain, or not, a discretionary extension.
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At the corner of Ukraine Park, in the Rosemont district, in Montreal
Photo : Radio-Canada / Myriam Fimbry
Sergiy, with his blue-collar job maintaining municipal parks, will not be able to pay for the residential and long-term care center for his mother. He inquired about the price.
The CHSLD without RAMQ costs around $50,000 per month! he exclaims. On the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal website, for example, we can read that the rate is $41,900 per month for non-residents of Canada.
Of course, in her current state, this old woman could not return to Ukraine, to a destroyed and occupied city, without anyone there to look after her. She would also not be able to move elsewhere in Canada. I can’t send my mother alone to another province, said her son. And I can’t sell my house, change jobs. Changing jobs for my wife is really too complicated!
Single parent and cancer sufferer
Last case, that of Olena Karlash, 38 years old. Arriving in Montreal a little over two years ago, this mother of an eight-year-old boy is employed as a cashier in a grocery store in Saint-Léonard.
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Olena et son fils Tymur ont fui Kharkiv.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Myriam Fimbry
About a year after her arrival in Quebec, Olena learned that she had cancer of the thyroid, a gland located in the neck. She has already had one surgery, but she will have to have more and take medication for the rest of her life with regular appointments “to make sure it doesn’t come back.”
Her Quebec health insurance is valid until the summer of 2025, despite her work permit valid until 2027. Afterwards, I don’t know what I should do, she says, worried. She sees all her Ukrainian compatriots being refused the renewal of their card. They are told that with their status, they are no longer eligible for RAMQ.
Really, I’m scared, because I’m alone here with my son. I’m afraid I won’t have enough money for medicine and doctor’s appointments. Without medication I can’t live, that’s all.
A quote from Olena, a single mother with thyroid cancer
This single mother with a minimum wage cashier job will not have the means to pay her salaries. She is also afraid for her eight-year-old boy, who depends entirely on her. If something happens to me, he’s the one who will really suffer too.
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Upon their arrival, the Ukrainians received donations and support from the population in this Ukrainian Orthodox church in the Rosemont district of Montreal.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Myriam Fimbry
Call for compassion
Of the 300,000 Ukrainians welcomed to Canada, 30,000 chose Quebec, including 25,000 in the Montreal region.
We said: “Come, we’ll help you!” So, what do we do with this world? asks Michael Shwec, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress for Quebec. Quebecers not only opened their hands, their doors, they also opened their wallets to help, he recalls. It is in the values of Quebecers.
He highlights the efforts of the Quebec government which, upon the arrival of the Ukrainians, immediately offered health insurance coverage, valid for the duration of their permit, the AVUCU. We were so proud of Quebec! Then, three years later, the government said: “Well, it’s over!”, he laments.
The war is here again. The need for shelters is still there. We would like our deputies and our ministers to still demonstrate the compassion they had three years ago.
A quote from Michael Shwec
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Michael Schwec grew up in Montreal and learned Ukrainian as a child. His family arrived in Canada 100 years ago, during the First World War.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Myriam Fimbry
In the case of asylum seekers or refugees, health care coverage is automatic. But in this case, the Ukrainians arrived with an open work permit, a type of permit that does not offer them this protection, except for the exceptions provided in the RAMQ eligibility rules.
The political decision was made to admit them to RAMQ for the initial duration of the AVUCU program, i.e. until February 2025.
On November 5, the office of Isabelle Poulet, CAQ MP for Laporte, in Longueuil, informed a Ukrainian by email that the Quebec government, during this period, was offering a basket of services to these people, including the RAMQ . The government ended this basket of services in July 2024.
To be eligible for RAMQ with an open work permit, you must, for example, be waiting for permanent residence after obtaining the Quebec selection certificate.
A large number of Ukrainians have not yet reached this stage. It is a process that takes time.
Stuck between Quebec and Ottawa
Meanwhile, in Rosemont, the historic neighborhood of Ukrainians, calls and files are piling up at the office of the Québec solidaire MP.
He emphasizes that the decision to end RAMQ coverage for Ukrainians did indeed come from Minister Dubé himself, as his office confirmed to him. This is clearly a political decision.
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The narrative paints a poignant picture of the challenges faced by Ukrainian refugees in Montreal, specifically focusing on the struggles of individuals like Sergiy and Olena.
Sergiy’s story highlights the harsh reality of displacement due to war. His mother, once a resident of Mariupol, has now lost her home and husband, with the trauma leading to mental decline. Although she received temporary support in a seniors’ residence and a CHSLD, the looming expiration of her health insurance is a significant concern. Sergiy’s situation reflects the difficulties many face in securing long-term care for elderly parents while having limited financial means, especially when the cost of care is prohibitive.
On the other hand, Olena’s struggle as a single mother battling thyroid cancer underscores the precarities faced by refugees who arrive with hopes for a better life but find themselves grappling with health issues and economic instability. Despite her dedication to supporting her child, the fear of losing health insurance and access to necessary medical care adds an overwhelming layer of anxiety to her situation.
The call for compassion from figures like Michael Shwec emphasizes the urgent need for continued support from both the community and governmental bodies. It underscores the importance of sustained aid for refugees as they rebuild their lives, reminding us that the needs of those who fled war are ongoing and cannot be overlooked.
the accounts reflect a broader narrative of resilience amidst adversity, raising awareness about the plight of refugees and the societal responsibility to provide them with the necessary support and resources to thrive.
