TORONTO – The producers of a documentary investigating the problems new Canadians face when accessing health care have used their research to create a unique website to help newcomers to Canada access much-needed medical care.
The website is a companion to the documentary Your Money Or Your Life, produced by ichannel, a national information channel owned by Toronto-based Stornoway Communications. The documentary sheds light on what is described as Canadian health care system’s failure to meet the needs of immigrants and refugees.
In addition to featuring the complete documentary, the site offers web-exclusive interviews with midwives and other healthcare professionals who speak about the lack of care some women in Canada receive when they lack health insurance.
The website also features an interactive “clinic finder” designed to help new Canadians locate immigrant- and refugee-friendly doctors and clinics that will provide them with treatment, for little or no money, even if they lack a provincial health card.
“Our research on the documentary revealed an overwhelming need for such a resource,” says the film’s producer Kevin O’Keefe, in a release. “We felt it wasn’t enough to shine a light on the problems new Canadians face accessing health care: we want to contribute to solving those problems.”
Many immigrants and refugees, O’Keefe says, don’t know how to find practitioners who will treat the uninsured, or provide care under the IFH (Interim Federal Health plan), which covers medical expenses for refugees.
First broadcast in November 2012, ichannel will present an encore presentation of Your Money Or Your Life on June 17 at 9 pm and midnight ET, to coincide with the National Day of Action organized by Canadian Doctors For Refugee Care, an association of health care providers committed to speaking out against federal government cuts to medical care for refugees.
