Ninety-day health benefits limit leaves Muskrat Dam family on the streets

Ernie Harper and his wife Deborah of Muskrat Dam were already going through a difficult time when a government policy suddenly piled on a whole lot more trouble.
Deborah had been in hospital for three months with a horrible infection in her foot, first in Sioux Lookout for a month and then another two months in Winnipeg.
Ernie and their two children had spent that time away from home, including the Christmas holidays in Winnipeg in a rented apartment, while Deborah got treatment. Ernie had resigned as band councilor in Muskrat Dam to focus on his wife, and the family was spending its savings on groceries and other essential items while they lived out of hotels and apartments.
To make matters worse the treatment could not stop the spread of infection, and Deborah had to have her foot amputated. She had been discharged but was still receiving outpatient care from nurses in Winnipeg.
So the family was at a low point when their troubles suddenly escalated.
Unbeknownst to the Harpers, Health Canada only covers health benefits like travel and accommodation costs, medical supplies and other benefits for 90 days.
Last week the family was informed that the government would no longer cover their accommodation, travel or other costs.
Ernie said they had no notice. Suddenly they were out on the street.
“We had exhausted all our funds, and the people at the non-insured health benefits program were telling us there was nothing they could do for us,” Ernie Harper said. “I had two kids with me, and I’m trying to convince these people that we desperately need help.”
The Harpers spent the last of their money getting back to Sioux Lookout, where they hoped someone could help.
But that hope quickly faded.
Despite a friend who paid for a hotel room for their first night in Sioux Lookout, the Harpers had no money for food or cabs around town or even to get back to Muskrat Dam.
They left the hotel after checkout in the morning, and with Deborah needing her bandages changed headed towards the Sioux Lookout hospital. It was a long walk, Ernie pushing his wife’s wheelchair and the children walking behind. Plus it was a warm February day, so the sidewalks were icy and the roads full of slush.
By the time they made it to the hospital the whole family was hungry and tired. But they found a similar reception in the hospital, being told they were not covered and they would have to go to a shelter for accommodations.
“I’m thinking, because of my Aboriginal ancestry, something’s wrong here,” Ernie reflected. “Why aren’t they honouring my status card?”
For the rest of the day the family hung around the hospital while Ernie called anyone he could think of to help them out. By nightfall they were resigned to camping out in the hospital waiting room. Finally Ernie reached a sympathetic ear in a friend at a native training organization. The friend got the family a hotel room and arranged for transportation to Muskrat Dam.
Now the Harpers are home, adjusting to their new reality of having Deborah in a wheelchair. Ernie knows that their struggles are winding down. But he wanted to warn others about the 90-day limit on non-insured health benefits program.
“It’s very disappointing for a person to have to go through all this,” Harper said. “If they would have told me we only have 90 days of coverage I would have had arrangements already lined up.”
Meanwhile he said the ordeal has made Deborah’s healing journey that much more difficult, both physically and mentally.
“It’s been very unfortunate for her, and for us,” he said. “I just don’t want anybody else to have to go through this.”
In an email response, Health Canada said the three-month coverage period is supposed to be a transition time for clients to register and qualify for provincial coverage for housing support and social assistance. A Health Canada spokesperson said the department informs clients of the three-month rule in writing.