Montrealer’s Ukrainian mother seeking cancer treatment in Quebec met with bureaucratic barriers

A Montrealer trying to get her newly arrived Ukrainian mother continued cancer treatments in Quebec is encountering a series of bureaucratic obstacles.

Alevtyna Markina says it’s been a real challenge getting her mother Olena Markina the medical care she needs.

“It’s a lot of phone calls, a lot, here and there. And it’s non-stop,” said Alevtyna.

Due to the Russian invasion and the lack of medication available, Olena was told not to return to the hospital in Ukraine where she had begun her cancer treatments.

She was forced to flee to Poland and leave her husband behind.

Montrealer Alevtyna Markina (right) with her Ukrainian mother Olena Markina. (Credit: Alevtyna Markina / handout)

When she did, her daughter from Montreal took a 48-hour trip to bring her mom to Quebec in hopes of continuing her cancer treatment.

Olena had a visitor visa from 2019 that was able to carry through and get her into the province.

“They just stamped her passport and they wrote that she can leave on December 2025,” said Alevtyna.

“I’ve been told, ‘just show this stamp in the hospital and that’s going to be her approval status.’”

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Ukrainians fleeing the war are able to stay in Canada for three years and obtain an open work permit free of charge, allowing them to access provincial health care. But Olena was not given that document at the airport.

“When you go to the hospital, they see it and they say, ‘OK, but what is it? Where is your visiting record? Where is your blue cross for refugees?’” said Alevtyna. “Because everybody sees Ukrainian refugees, but they’re not refugees. So there is a big confusion.”

Added Olena: “Because they’re trying not to have any people in the hospital because they cannot provide shelter for everybody. So they say, ‘better go home and find shelter.’”

Patients’ rights advocate Seeta Ramdass says getting individuals treatments they need is delayed due to a lack of communication at multiple government levels, as well as a lack of training in situations like Olena’s.

“There is a level of bureaucratic red tape that becomes a barrier,” said Ramdass.

“They’re not trained in all these complicated pieces of paperwork as to how to signal the type or the classification of a newcomer to Canada in that paperwork.”

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The Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services told CityNews in a statement: “As soon as they arrive on Quebec soil, Ukrainian nationals can benefit from health insurance and the public prescription drug insurance plan.

“The continuation of cancer treatments are covered and supported.”

But Alevtyna says the difference in answers makes things difficult for her to move forward.

Her mother has not been approved for Quebec’s public health insurance plan (RAMQ).

“When you go to the hospital, everybody is really nice and they say they’re trying to help and they do tests,” said Alevtyna. “But if ever something happens with RAMQ, they’re going to send me the bill. So I’ve been told that she’s covered from the first day, but still it’s kind of question in the air.”

“It’s great that our nation is so open to receiving and helping others,” added Ramdass. “But then once they get here, yeah, there is the reality of actually delivering the care that they need in the way that they need. That’s a big challenge.”