WHEN: Monday, May 15 @ 5:30-7pmWHERE: Glitter Bean Café, 5896 Spring Garden Rd, Halifax, NS
No one is illegal – Nova Scotia will host a public event, where community members will be invited to make Get Well Soon cards for Kerian Burnett. Kerian was diagnosed with cervical cancer in September 2022 while working in Nova Scotia as a migrant worker and has been hospitalized since February 2023. Supporters are calling for public healthcare coverage to be provided to Kerian.
Kerian worked on a strawberry farm in Nova Scotia through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). After she became ill, her employment and private health insurance were terminated. Public healthcare coverage for migrant workers varies province to province. In Nova Scotia, migrant workers must have a one-year work permit to be eligible for public healthcare (MSI). This means that migrant farm workers in the SAWP are not eligible, because their contracts are only up to 8 months of the calendar year. To date, the Nova Scotia government has refused to extend MSI coverage to Kerian.
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