Ontario’s health minister says the province is working to determine what can be done to help children scheduled for specialized life-saving surgeries in the U.S. who are being affected by President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
Health Minister Eric Hoskins says it has come to the government’s attention that some of these children are being turned away solely because of where they were born.
Hoskins says Ontario has an obligation to respond.
He says in a statement that the ministry is working on a broad humanitarian response to provide life-saving care to children whose surgeries have been cancelled.
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Hoskins says ministry staff are working with their federal partners and hospitals, primarily the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, to determine whether there is an opportunity to support the patients.
Trump’s order, issued last Friday, temporarily bans travel for people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen and also temporarily halts the U.S. refugee program.
“Given that this is a critical time for these ill children, our ministry and Ontario’s specialized children’s hospitals, which provide best-in-the-world care feel the responsibility to act quickly,” Hoskins said.
“We have capacity in Ontario to provide highly specialized care that is not widely available in the world.”
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