These Gazan families came to Quebec for safety. Now, they face life without health coverage

When Nidal Zaqout arrived successful Montreal past September from Gaza, helium hoped to person a accidental to rebuild his life.

But information didn't mean the conflict was over.

He soon realized that helium and his household would lone person nationalist wellness sum for 3 months aft accomplishment — contempt having fled Israel's deadly attacks connected Gazans and their homeland. 

"It's a atrocious feeling, I'm reasoning astir everything each day," Zaqout said from the surviving country of his West Island home, wherever helium lives with his parents, 2 of his sisters, his woman and his 2 children.

"I person a large family, large responsibility." 

Zaqout fears what mightiness hap if idiosyncratic successful his household becomes ill. His begetter suffers from terrible genu symptom and his parent from migraines and issues with her back, enarthrosis and neck.

Without Quebec wellness security (RAMQ), going to a infirmary is not an option, and the options are scarce and expensive.

"Not each the radical person money, they cannot screen for the wellness due to the fact that the radical came from Gaza," said Aya, Zaqout's 15-year-old sister.

"Everything is destroyed, they don't person nothing. They mislaid everything."

As Zaqout and his sister spoke, their parent served dates and coffee. The household gathered adjacent and mildly helped 1 different archer their communicative successful Arabic, French, and English, attentive to each detail.

Zaqout expressed gratitude toward the Canadian and Quebec governments and said helium was blessed and feels harmless here, but wishes helium and his household could person entree to care.

"I can't unrecorded without a aesculapian card," helium said.

'I request health-care aft the war'

Zaqout and his household arrived successful Canada arsenic impermanent residents done the impermanent residency programme for Gazans. Their visas are valid for 3 years and they initially received 3 months of wellness sum done the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) — after which the national authorities says it's up to the provincial authorities to instrumentality over. 

But Quebec has faced disapproval for failing to bash so.

More than 70 civilian nine and health-care groups successful the state published an unfastened missive successful La Presse past period calling retired the state for not providing health-care sum to Gazans.

"Quebec remains the lone state refusing to insure their wellness care," the missive stated.

According to national data, 823 Gazans person made it to Canada betwixt October 2023 and May 2025.

These families are among the Palestinians affected aft Israel's service killed much than 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's wellness authorities, and displaced 90 per cent of the enclave's population.

That aforesaid month, a United Nations study concluded that Israel is deliberately inflicting conditions "calculated to bring astir the carnal demolition of Palestinians arsenic a group, 1 of the categories of genocidal acts successful the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention." 

"Everything got destroyed, my house, my everything, my business, my jobs," said Zaqout, showing a video of his erstwhile location successful Gaza — a location with elegant architecture and a thenar histrion that erstwhile stood gangly beside it. 

Jehan Elsayyed, different Gazan who has been surviving successful Sherbrooke, Que., since December, is each excessively acquainted with Zaqout's loss.

She tears up implicit videoconference arsenic she recalls witnessing an aged antheral forced to portion by an Israeli worker and her clip surviving successful Gaza with 180 radical successful a azygous location without water, nutrient oregon electricity.

When she yet made it to Quebec, she slipped connected crystal and broke her arm. Her wellness sum expired soon aft and now, she continues to suffer.

"I request health-care aft the war," she said. "I don't privation my wellness concern to beryllium worse." 

Elsayyed is learning French and said she is trying to integrate into society, grateful for the assistance she's received from Quebecers. But she finds it "very frustrating" to unrecorded without wellness insurance. 

"I anticipation that I tin person the close to unrecorded arsenic a respected idiosyncratic … and to beryllium adjacent similar different immigrants successful Quebec," she said.

'We're making them adjacent much vulnerable,' says doctor

In the unfastened letter, the 75 organizations pointed retired a "double standard" aft Quebec extended Ukrainians' health-care sum — initially acceptable to expire successful March past twelvemonth — until March 2028.

"The aforesaid extortion has truthful acold been denied to Palestinian families, including children, fleeing a concern described by galore experts arsenic genocide," work the letter. 

Sophie Zhang, a subordinate of Quebec Doctors Against Genocide, was among the physicians who signed it.

"Our governments bash play a relation successful what's happening to these Gazan families and the crushed wherefore they're present successful the archetypal place," said Zhang.

"So I bash deliberation we request to instrumentality this work and astatine slightest springiness them basal rights similar wellness care."

Khadijé Jizi, a Montreal-based familial counsellor and subordinate of the Health Worker Alliance for Palestine, highlighted that Gazan patients endure from chronic conditions, gynecological and fertility issues and PTSD.

"These are each things that didn't vanish erstwhile they near Gaza. They're inactive determination and they request aesculapian attention," said Jizi. 

She besides warned that without nationalist coverage, Palestinian children won't beryllium supported for imaginable developmental issues oregon connection delays. 

"These are susceptible families, truthful them leaving a state during a genocide and coming to a full caller state … has its acceptable of challenges," said Jizi. 

"When we adhd not having entree to wellness care, we're making them adjacent much vulnerable." 

Conflicting explanations from Quebec and Ottawa

In effect to CBC's request, Quebec's migration and wellness ministries issued a associated statement, declaring that provincial wellness sum eligibility depends connected documents issued by national migration authorities related to Gazans' status. 

The connection noted that the visa granted nether the national government's impermanent nationalist argumentation for Gazans does not see immoderate circumstantial designation, dissimilar the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel.

Instead, the state said "it is simply a wide papers allowing a overseas nationalist to enactment successful Canada for a constricted period, careless of origin." 

The provincial ministries said they've asked the national authorities to widen sum nether the impermanent nationalist argumentation to "avoid a lapse" and "allow [Gazans] to regularize their presumption to suffice for the plan," but they accidental they person yet to person a response.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, meanwhile, said nationalist health-care sum is "primarily a provincial/territorial responsibility" and that provinces and territories were besides encouraged to see extending entree to health.

"Comparisons betwixt Gaza and different crises, specified arsenic successful Ukraine, oversimplify analyzable realities that indispensable beryllium considered, including provincial capableness to enactment newcomers, the easiness of question retired of struggle zones, and the targets acceptable by the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan," the national ministry wrote successful a connection responding to CBC's follow-up questions.

Zhang described the condemnation arsenic "shocking" and questioned wherefore Ottawa would mention migration targets successful this context.  

She said she interpreted some governments' statements arsenic attempts to deflect work for an contented that is "very easy solvable." 

Haya Alsakka, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement successful Montreal, described the deficiency of extended wellness sum for Gazans arsenic a "policy of racism and discrimination," targeting Palestinian and Arab communities.

She noted Quebec "very quickly" provided wellness sum to Ukrainians. 

"How are we expected to judge that it truly is an administrative contented that is barring Quebec from giving these families health-care access?" asked Alsakka.

Zaqout inactive has loved ones trapped successful Gaza, including 1 of his sisters, on with her hubby and kid who stay successful a tent. He explained that they were surviving successful a antithetic portion of the enclave. When they tried to escape, the roadworthy was bombarded by the Israeli military. He besides added that they didn't person visas from the national government. 

His household cries each day, longing for quality and a accidental to reunite.

As helium watches videos of himself treating Palestinian children wrong tents successful Gaza, helium shares his acquisition arsenic a nurse. Now, successful Montreal, helium hopes to enactment that aforesaid attraction to enactment for Quebecers.

"I privation to win successful my life. I privation to supply each my experience, each my everything to these radical here," said Zaqout. 

"I anticipation to implicit my household present and I anticipation to person a aesculapian card."