General

Jason Kenney would like you to thank Jason Kenney

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has worked hard to roll back health benefits for refugees, and now he wants Canadians to know where they can thank him: on his own website.

In a statement emailed to the Toronto Star on Monday, Alexis Pavlich, a spokeswoman for Kenney, directed Canadians to JasonKenney.ca to thank the minister for “[making] sure sure that bogus asylum claimants are not receiving better healthcare than Canadian seniors”.

Earlier this month, the Harper government stripped refugee claimants of federally funded supplemental health benefits, including prescription drugs, dental work, vision care and wheelchairs.

The changes are expected to save the federal government roughly $20 million a year, but a number of physicians have come out against the policy, stating that cutting preventative and primary health care threatens public safety and increases costs to taxpayers in the long run.

Although the petition does not have a date, a link from fellow Conservative MP Dave Van Kesteren’s Facebook page shows that it has been on Kenney’s website since at least April 26th.

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