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“We don’t think that smuggled migrants and bogus asylum claimants should be getting better health care benefits than Canadian seniors and taxpayers,” the petition says.

“We think it is important that the government scale back some of the benefits provided to refugee claimants to make sure they get essential basic care and pharmaceuticals that are necessary for public health, but that they don’t get benefits not available to the average Canadian.”

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Meanwhile, doctors today sounded more alarms about changes to Canada’s refugee system.

An opinion piece in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says a new law could pose a serious danger to the mental health of refugees.

Bill C-31, the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, includes provisions that allow the immediate detention of refugee claimants designated as part of irregular arrivals.

All those over the age of 16 will be held for a minimum of two weeks before their detention is reviewed, while those under 16 can be informally detained with their parents or released to child care authorities.

The bill became law at the end of June and the detention provisions are now in force.

The authors of the piece cite several studies suggesting high levels of psychiatric symptoms among detained refugee claimants, even after short periods.

“As health professionals, it is our responsibility to urge the government to minimize harm to children, pregnant women, trauma survivors and other vulnerable people,” Dr. Janet Cleveland and Dr. Cecile Rousseau wrote in the article, released Monday.