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Manitoba
to Offer Free Health Care to International Students
(from the Winnipeg Sun)
A national student organization is cheering the
Manitoba government's move to extend free health care to people from
other countries who are in the province for a high school or
post-secondary education. And the Canadian Federation of Students
doesn’t buy any argument that the shift to put its international
colleagues under Medicare is a change that the province can't
afford.
Marakary Bayo, chairman of the federation's Manitoba
branch, said Wednesday that free medical care is "another step
toward a fairer" education for foreign students who, he claimed, put
about $90 million into the local economy last year. "It's just
totally fair. They contribute to the local economy — they create
jobs and stuff," he told the Winnipeg Sun. "It won't cost
much to the province."
The inclusion of international students — currently
more than 3,200 of them in Manitoba, from countries such as China,
India and South Korea - under public health insurance will take
effect next April 1. The free coverage will also be given to foreign
students' spouses and dependents.
Read the full story in the Winnipeg
Sun.
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