Antigonish: Sunday, July 16, 1:30PM at The People’s Place – Community Room, 283 Main St. Facebook event here.
Halifax: Sunday, July 16, 3PM at the Nova Scotia Legislature
On July 16th, community members in Antigonish and Halifax will participate in a postering campaign calling for access to public healthcare coverage for Kerian Burnett and all migrant workers in Nova Scotia. The events are being coordinated by the migrant worker support organization No one is illegal – Nova Scotia (NOII-NS) and allied organizations.
Kerian is a mother of six and grandmother of two. Last year, she left her home in Jamaica to come work on a strawberry farm in Nova Scotia. While working here, she received the devastating news of a cancer diagnosis. While migrant workers like Kerian support Nova Scotian farms and our economy, they are unfairly excluded from provincial healthcare coverage (MSI). Without access to MSI, Kerian is now expected to pay for expensive healthcare costs out-of-pocket, which are beyond her means.
Kerian and Stacey Gomez, Manager of NOII-NS’ Migrant Workers Program, will speak at the event in Antigonish prior to the postering action.
Background:
· In Quebec and Ontario, migrant farm workers in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program have access to public healthcare coverage on arrival. But, in Nova Scotia, migrant workers must have a one-year work permit to be eligible for public healthcare coverage (MSI). This means that migrant farm workers in the SAWP like Kerian are not eligible, because these contracts are only up to 8 months of the calendar year. However, many migrant workers live and work in Nova Scotia year after year.
· NOII-NS, Sisters of St. Martha, and other organizations are calling for access to MSI on arrival for all migrant workers, and immediate healthcare coverage for Kerian.
· For more information, visit www.migrantjusticens.ca/kerian-burnett
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