SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan NDP says the provincial government has quietly stopped providing health coverage to some immigrants with maintained (formerly known as implied) status, leaving legally authorized workers without provincial health insurance while they wait for work permit renewals or permanent residency decisions.
Associate Shadow Health Minister Keith Jorgenson said the change has affected what he believes are several thousand recent immigrants across Saskatchewan, including those legally permitted to live and work in the province while awaiting decisions from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, but many are now finding themselves without provincial healthcare coverage.
"These are people who are legally allowed to be here who are working and are paying taxes. We've talked to literally dozens and dozens of people who've had health coverage denied to them,” said Jorgenson, a first-term MLA representing the constituency of Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood, during a media availability on Friday, July 10.
Yuriy Pogrebnyy, a Ukrainian national who moved to Saskatchewan after initially settling in Alberta, said he has built a career in Saskatoon, where he works as a milling operator and hopes to advance into an engineering position.
"Now I have plans to build my future here. I pay taxes. I try to build my future, but I can't get a health card, and I can't get health coverage,” said Pogrebnyy, who added that the consequences became real after he suffered a minor accident several weeks ago when he chose not to seek medical attention because he has no active Saskatchewan health card.
Jorgenson said that the issue stems from a change in how Saskatchewan recognizes maintained status. In the past, individuals who had applied to renew their work permits before they expired could present proof of their application and continue receiving provincial health coverage until a federal decision was made. He said that practice appears to have ended.
"Historically, the Government of Saskatchewan has always provided health coverage to people who are in [maintained] status. When Yuri's work permit expired, he'd already applied for a new one, so he has no health coverage until he gets it. This is a policy change. It hasn't always been this way,” he added.
SaskToday has not independently confirmed whether the province has formally changed its eligibility policy for applicants on maintained status.
Pogrebnyy said that although he has documentation confirming his immigration application is being processed, he was unable to use it to renew his health coverage. He said the online system requires a valid work permit rather than proof that an extension application has been submitted. The opposition believes the change has occurred quietly, without any government announcement or explanation.
He added that speaking publicly was not only about his own circumstances but about others facing the same uncertainty. He said many newcomers are reluctant to come forward because they have not yet obtained permanent residency, but speaking out is his way of letting people know that he is not the only one facing this problem, as he was left with no choice but to seek help.
The government said it cannot comment on the eHealth issue because confidentiality laws protect specific cases. However, the Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Act and Medical Care Insurance Beneficiary and Administration Regulations defined how individuals were granted health coverage on an immigration permit.
“Immigrants residing in Saskatchewan can be eligible for a health card and health coverage. An active work or study permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is required. Health card holders on implied status need to provide proof they have applied to renew or extend their work or study permits in advance of their current permit expiry date,” said the government’s statement.
“They can receive a one-time extension of six months while they await a decision to ensure continuity of health coverage. Each health card application is reviewed using the information and supporting documentation provided to determine whether the individual meets the established eligibility requirements. This is the long-standing policy on health card eligibility for residents on implied status. There have been no recent changes.”
Policy shift
"We believe it's a change in policy because every single person that we've talked to who is in this category is being denied coverage. If the government had announced it was making this cut, it would have allowed for an actual conversation about whether this was a good idea. Instead, they've just very, very quietly done this,” said Jorgenson.
The NDP says the policy contradicts commitments made by the Saskatchewan government in 2022, when it announced Ukrainians arriving under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program would remain eligible for Saskatchewan health coverage throughout their immigration process. Jorgenson said that promise has not been honoured.
"Scott Moe made a very specific promise to people like Yuri that he would provide them with health coverage as long as they lived and worked here in Saskatchewan, and he's broken that promise." I talked to a woman who's awaiting life-saving surgery and isn't sure if she can afford it or how she'll pay for it," Jorgenson said.
Jorgenson added that they have heard from organizations that help newcomers and immigrants across the province, which have experienced similar problems. However, he could not provide an exact number, and estimated that the issue may affect a couple of thousand people in Saskatchewan because delays in federal immigration processing frequently leave applicants in on maintained status for months while their applications are processed.
He also described other cases involving more serious medical concerns, arguing that denying healthcare coverage undermines Saskatchewan's efforts to attract newcomers to address labour shortages and population growth, and the lengthy processing times for federal immigration applications are precisely why maintained status exists.
"This is a profoundly wrong thing that the government has done. We have a group of people who are working and paying taxes but are not allowed to access healthcare benefits. People coming to this country have a choice of province in which to live. If we want to make Saskatchewan a welcoming place where people are going to come and work and buy houses and set down roots, we need to do simple things that allow them to build a life in this province,” said Jorgenson.
"You wouldn't want to create chaos by having people who are merely waiting for paperwork to be processed suddenly unable to work. I think it's cruel that the provincial government is excluding this group of people from healthcare coverage."
