Ontario will provide life-saving care to children affected by the U.S. travel ban. These are children with surgeries that were cancelled because of the travel restrictions. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order January 27 temporarily banning people from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the USA for 90 days.
“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,” Health Minister Eric Hoskins told reporters. Hospitals in the U.S. have been reaching out to their counterparts here in Canada including the Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids). Sick Kids is reported to be the primary hospital.
The hospitals will review the cases before determining the next steps. Hoskins felt motivated to demonstrate how open Ontario could be in the wake of events this week in Quebec. “We’re still in the early stages, but we felt, and I felt- particularly in light of the occurrences in the past week in this country, in Quebec- that Canadians and Ontarians would feel comfortable and confident in expressing our openness, our willingness, our generosity to consider receiving children, infants- some as young as four months old- that without the surgery would die,” he continued.
Hoskins says Ministry of Health staff are working with federal officials on this issue. This will not affect surgeries and procedures for Ontario children. The costs associated with the surgery is so far unknown.
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