59 Cents Campaign

by Krystofer Penner | Published 25th June 2012 in Ways of Seeing | 1

We here at Geez believe grassroots advocacy is very important in creating change, and thus we like to draw our readers’ attention to causes that we believe to be important. The 59 Cents Campaign is in response to the recent proposal of cuts to refugee (one of the most vulnerable groups of people in Canada) healthcare. 59 cents is the amount that the Canadian Government will save per Canadian citizen, a very small amount. We encourage you to read the description below from the 59 Cent Campaign coordinators, and to stand up for the rights of other human beings living in our country.

“We at the 59 Cents Campaign find the Canadian Government’s decision to cut portions of refugee healthcare by means of the Ministerial Order of Hon. Jason Kenney, published April 25, 2012 to be unacceptable.

We believe that if Canadians stop to consider the effect which these changes will have on the most vulnerable portion of our global society, that our country’s annual savings of 59 cents per person to keep the Federal Interim Health Program open for refugees will be seen as insignificant.

The changes are set to take effect June 30, 2012, therefore, we have put together the 59 cent campaign in which we are asking all Canadians to place 59 cents in an envelope and send it to the Prime Minister’s office to let him know that we will not stand for these cuts.

In 2011 Canada was proudly a place of hope and healing to 25,000 refugees; this is a fact in which we take pride and wish to take pride in for generations to come.”