Potential new fees for temporary residents could make Alberta less attractive to international recruits, a University of Calgary health law expert says.
Voters will weigh-in on whether to introduce fees for temporary residents’ use of health care and education in the Oct. 19 referendum. Questions two, three and four deal with access to social services, health care and education for some newcomers.
If those measures pass, the Alberta government has floated the idea off charging non-permanent residents — including international students and temporary workers — fees ranging up to $1,900 a year to access provincially funded health services, according to CTV News.
Concerns about recruitment and employer costs
Lorian Hardcastle, an associate professor of health law at the University of Calgary, cautions that these financial barriers will undermine Alberta’s international recruitment drives, particularly for health-care professionals.
“I don’t think it helps us to recruit doctors from other countries if we present ourselves as a province that’s politically unstable, that’s not welcoming to immigrants, and that may make their lives harder in some way,” Hardcastle said.
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas expressed a similar concern regarding the impact of political uncertainty on the province’s reputation, warning in the Calgary Herald that “Alberta’s flirtation with separatism will only hurt Calgary’s attractiveness as a place to bring business.”
Beyond targeting high-income professionals, the policy threatens broader workforce stability by imposing additional burdens on essential temporary workers and the local industries that rely on them, Hardcastle said.
“If you’re a farmer who brings in temporary workers to work on your property, and you’re expected to come up with another $2,000 for each of them to provide health insurance, that can be a pretty significant burden.”
The Government of Alberta has said these changes are necessary to combat the rising cost of care and ease the strain on the province’s public infrastructure.