Experts call on government to support hundreds of Afghan refugees coming to Waterloo region
An influx of refugees are coming to Canada, but those who support them say more funding and resources are needed to match demand.
After the Taliban swept to power in August 2021, Canada promised to resettle at least 40,000 Afghans.
Reception House is a Waterloo region-based organization that helps settle government-funded refugees.
“The government’s commitment to resettle 40,000 Afghans has ramped up in the last couple weeks because commercial charter flights have been arriving,” director of programs for Reception House Lynne Griffiths-Fulton said.
The latest charter flight with Afghans on board, landed in Toronto on Friday, May 19. About 50 of them came directly to Waterloo.
A total of 150 Afghan refugees are now temporarily living at a Waterloo hotel with upwards of 600 expected to arrive over the next year.
The goal is to find them permanent homes.
But housing, is just one issue. Health is another.
HEALTHCARE IS TOP CONCERN
Wajma Attaya is with the Centre for Family Medicine, which runs a refugee health care clinic. Attaya says many refugees arrive with post-traumatic stress disorder, either treated or untreated.
“People are fleeing from areas of conflict and may have experienced direct violence so they are traumatized it is an exhausting journey for people,” Griffiths-Fulton said.
Plus, other health issues need to be addressed too.
“Folks who come here and have prescriptions that require renewals or they have chronic conditions that require ongoing care, if they don’t have a primary care provider that they are attached to they have to go to the emergency room or walk-in clinic,” CEO of the Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre, Tara Groves-Taylor said.
According to Attaya when newcomers arrive, they're supposed to be treated at a temporary clinic for the first six months, then move onto an assigned family doctor.
“Specifically focusing in on the refugee health clinic, we run our clinic a total of two days a week,” she said.
But because of an ongoing family doctor shortage in Ontario, some have to stay with the temporary refugee clinic for up to two years. It means those clinics are bottle-necked and there are some refugees who don’t get to see a doctor at all.
“We just don’t have the human health resources from reception all the way to primary care,” Attaya said.
In certain cases refugees, have ended up at the emergency room or a walk-in clinic for something as simple as a prescription renewal.
“Walk-in clinics may not be set up with interpretation services or the services that are required,” Groves-Taylor said.
“The longer term solution is that the federal government and the provincial government need to talk to each other.”
A statement in Part from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reads: “Where there are identified gaps in health human resources, IRCC works with its partners to register medical professionals and ensure sufficient IFHP providers across all locations where refugees and asylum claimants reside.”
CTV News reached out to the federal and provincial governments to ask them if organizations like the ones in K-W will be seeing any increased support, to match the increase in patients.
The Ministry of Health responded did not answer the specific question.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to squash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
A subset of Alzheimer's cases may be caused by two copies of a single gene, new research shows
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer’s disease — in people who inherit two copies of a worrisome gene.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.