Health care for all: Kerian Burnett’s story [video]

Editor’s note: This is the story of migrant worker Kerian Burnett, a Jamaican woman who has been in Canada since April 2022 under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP).

Since arriving in Canada, Burnett fell ill and was diagnosed with cancer which requires two surgeries. The faulty system has left Burnett in a very precarious situation, without income or housing. 

Migrant workers who work in Canada under the SAWP aren’t eligible to be covered under the Nova Scotia Medical Services Insurance (MSI) because their contracts are under eight months.

Thousands of seasonal agricultural workers could find themselves in the same situation.

Burnett is calling on Minister of Health Michelle Thomson to extend health coverage to her and other migrant workers in Nova Scotia. You can help Burnett by contributing to her GoFundMe.

The NB Media Co-op decided to share this story to bring awareness about this shocking reality for the very people who are — often silently and unseen — contributing to make our lives better by providing food for our communities.

No One Is Illegal – Kjipuktuk/Halifax is a grassroots migrant justice movement, building power and radical solidarities on unceded and unsurrendered Mi’kma’ki.