Father Abdessamad Aziz, who is a Canadian citizen, has access to RAMQ, but his wife Latifa, who has visitor status, had to give birth in the country without medical care.
You’re worried because you’re wondering if you’ll get there… Mr Aziz said when he met him on Saturday afternoon.
Abdessamad Aziz came to Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean in 2004 and subsequently obtained his Canadian citizenship.
In 2019 his wife Latifa visited him. With the pandemic, his stay was extended. She became pregnant and had to give birth in Quebec, but the situation turned out to be more complicated than expected.
Her pregnancy was not covered by the RAMQ, her husband, or her private insurance. Only once in the world was the baby covered by his father’s insurance.
“A Quebec citizen who was born and lives here and is going to marry a foreigner will have the same problem as me. I wouldn’t say it’s discriminatory, but it’s kind of unfair to dads because it’s my baby as much as my mother’s baby. She’s wearing it, but it’s from me. Why isn’t he counting on me? »
— A quote from Abdessamad Aziz, Canadian citizen, originally from Morocco
A bill for $11,000
From exams to delivery, baby Adam’s uncomplicated birth must have cost more than $11,000.
The couple is expecting a second child in June. Due to the delays in the immigration files, the family is left with no choice but to pay for the second delivery.
I understand that the government is doing this to protect the system from people who abuse, who take advantage of it and want to give birth here, but people who have their citizenship, it’s a bit difficult, he says.
The Jonquiérois was able to get financial support from his employer, but the hardest part was navigating the bureaucracy, he laments.
I was hoping to be directed to organizations and such but couldn’t find anything. The only help I’ve received that I thank is my bosses, he says.
Asked about this file, CAQ MP for Jonquière, Yannick Gagnon, invites citizens who are having problems to contact his constituency office.
Based on a report by Béatrice Rooney