Ottawa has a strange idea of fairness.Federal figures reported by Blacklock’s Reporter show taxpayers spent more than $43 million last year on healthcare benefits for rejected asylum claimants and illegal immigrants. That included basic healthcare, prescriptions, counselling, physiotherapy, vision care, transportation to appointments, and translation supports.That is not a rounding error. It is a policy choice.Through the federal Interim Federal Health Program, Ottawa provides temporary health coverage to eligible refugee claimants and other groups. .Ottawa spends $43M on health care for rejected asylum claimants sparking backlash .Medavie Blue Cross, which administers claims, lists services such as doctor visits, hospital care, lab tests, limited vision care, urgent dental care, and prescriptions under the program.Canadians are generous people. They do not want people dying in the street. They understand emergency care is one thing. But they also understand the difference between compassion and being taken for fools.When an asylum claim has been heard and rejected, the answer should not be more benefits. The answer should be removal unless a lawful appeal is still underway or a real risk review must be completed. Once the process is finished, the person should go home..That is the point of having a border.The numbers make the problem worse. According to the original report, 19,771 people whose asylum claims were denied still accessed coverage. The number has nearly tripled over seven years. That means the program is not acting like a short bridge to a final decision. It is becoming a long-term support system for people Canada has already decided are not refugees.Meanwhile, Canadians are waiting.A working family in Red Deer can struggle to find a family doctor. A senior in Moose Jaw may wait months for specialist care. A young tradesman in Calgary might put off dental work because it is too expensive. Many Canadians pay out of pocket for physiotherapy, counselling, glasses, and dental services, or they go without.Then they are told their tax dollars will cover some of those services for people with no legal right to remain in the country.No serious government should defend that as fair..Conservative MP Burton Bailey (Red Deer) was right to ask why this is happening. Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre was also right to say Canadians have big hearts but expect to be treated fairly. The House of Commons had a chance to move in that direction, but MPs voted down a Conservative motion on February 25 by 198 to 134.The Liberals and their allies will say healthcare is about human rights. That sounds noble. It also dodges the real question.What obligation does Canada owe to someone whose claim has been rejected after due process?Emergency care should remain available. No one is arguing that paramedics should check immigration papers before helping an injured person. But Ottawa should not be funding a benefits package that many citizens cannot access for themselves.This is especially wrong when the same dollars could help enforce removal orders.The Canada Border Services Agency says it is responsible for removing foreign nationals who are inadmissible to Canada. Its removal statistics show this is already a major national task, not a theory debated in a committee room. .In 2025, Canada had increased deportations, with many involving people whose refugee claims were rejected, and Ottawa had pledged $30.5 million over three years for removals.That is where all the money should go, not to provide healthcare to people who have no legal right to be in Canada.Spend it on more removal officers. Spend it on travel documents. Spend it on detention where needed. Spend it on speeding up the final steps after a claim is denied. Spend it on making sure failed claimants actually leave.The current system sends the wrong message. It tells people that even after Canada says no, they may still receive federal benefits while they remain here. That weakens public trust in immigration. It also punishes the people who follow the rules, wait their turn, and come here legally.There is another cost, too. Every dollar spent on benefits for rejected claimants is a dollar not spent on Canadians who paid into the system..Ottawa cannot keep saying there is no money for better healthcare, safer streets, border enforcement, or tax relief while quietly finding tens of millions for people ordered to leave.A country without enforcement is not compassionate. It is unserious.Canada should protect real refugees. It should process claims quickly and fairly. It should help those who truly face danger. But when the answer is no, the answer must mean no.Taxpayers should not be paying for extended healthcare benefits for rejected asylum claimants.They should be paying to send them home.
