kingston rally protesting carney government's refugee health-care cuts organized by queen's doctor on front lines
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dr eva purkey (left) speaks in market square at a rally protesting federal cuts to refugee health care and associated costs in kingston on tuesday, april 14, 2026. (photo by gare joyce/the kingston whig-standard)
forty kingston citizens braved an april shower to gather for a rally in market square on tuesday to protest the carney government’s proposed cuts to medical aid for refugees.
the protest event was one of a dozen in cities staged from the maritimes to yukon on tuesday. the event in kingston was organized by a local family physician, dr. eva purkey, a family doctor who runs a clinic for refugees at queen’s and is the director of its global health/health equity program.
“refugees have always been used as a scapegoat in canadian society,” dr. purkey said. “they’re a group of people that most canadians don’t pay very much attention to, so it’s easy to just take things out from under them without getting a lot of excitement. “
the liberal government has tabled cuts amounting to 15 per cent of the refugee health-care budget and requiring patient co-payments for requisite health care, including medications, prescriptions, mental-health counselling, physiotherapy and vision care. the cuts are slated to take effect on may 1 and while dr. purkey said she remained “a little hopeful” that publicizing the issue might mitigate the legislation, she believed hardships for patients at her clinic were all but inevitable.
“the conservative federal government made similar cuts — much more sweeping cuts — a number of years ago, and at that time, they were deemed unconstitutional and cruel and unusual punishment,” said dr purkey, who had previously worked in a remote inuit community. “the cuts today are different. the carney government, to use a medical term, is more surgical in its approach than the conservative government was, but it is equally unacceptable.”
in her address to protesters, dr purkey suggested that cuts were at once illogical and unconscionable.
“it makes no sense to create a situation where people who have amputations due to landmines can’t get access to crutches or prosthetics or wheelchairs, which they obviously need to go out and get a job,” she said. “it makes no sense that refugees can’t get access to mental health care or dental care, both of which are needed for them to be able to get a job, and where the care that they will seek, which will be in the emergency department or in the hospital, which continues to be covered, will be way more expensive than the care that the federal government is cutting.”
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dr purkey’s commitment to the health and welfare of refugees predates her medical career. growing up in lennoxville, quebec, her mother, a teacher, worked in refugee resettlement. “this has been a lifelong project for me, going back to when i was 14,“ she said. ”i’ve worked in camps where refugees come from, and then i’ve worked here in canada with refugees. so for me my practice is a way to extend canadian humanitarianism—to go out into the world and then back and to bring the world into us. i feel it’s a gift every time i see people in my clinic it’s interesting. i’m always impressed by their stories by the experiences they’ve been through, and i feel honored to be able to support their integration and provide them with care.”
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