Amirmohammad Bagheri, Staff Writer | 

The Calgary Refugee Health Clinic (CRHC) has been providing healthcare and support to refugees facing language or cultural barriers since 2011.

Their services include initial health assessments and screening tests, and treatment for acute health concerns and chronic health conditions. Their team of doctors includes family physicians, infectious disease specialists, psychiatrists, and internal medicine physicians. With the help of partnerships with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS), this clinic has provided multi-specialty care for over 10,000 refugees and their families.

On April 1, 2025, the Calgary Refugee Health Clinic will be officially dropped by Mosaic Primary Care Network, which is their primary source of operational funding. As the time draws near, the clinic has now opened its doors to crowdfunding as it aims to reach a goal of $300,000. This is only the bare minimum amount of money needed to maintain their lease and keep the place open.

Mosaic Primary Care Network disclosed the following statement with CBC News as their reasoning for the change of decisions in funding.

“Over time, patient volume and complexity of care have grown significantly, surpassing the capacity of Mosaic’s PCN’s mandate,” they stated.

Other than resorting to crowdfunding, the clinic has also tried to reach out and gain funding through the provincial government. Several meetings with Alberta Health officials have been conducted, including one with the assistant deputy minister of health. However, these efforts have proved to be unsuccessful.

According to specifications coming from Health Minister Adriana LaGrange in an interview with CBC News, provincial funding needed for the clinic flows through primary care networks. Because of the flow through primary care, their requests have been declined.

“I’m certainly worried about anyone – refugee or otherwise – who comes to Alberta and requires care. We want to make sure that everyone is looked after,” LaGrange says.

LaGrange also mentioned that Alberta Health is actively meeting with the Mosaic PCN in order to strive toward a reasonable solution. As this is the only clinic offering health and various care services for between 1,000 and 1,500 refugees on a yearly basis, the closure of the clinic could drastically affect those who count on the tremendous efforts of its healthcare workers.

As the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers in Calgary increase in a steady manner, the impact could be severe. In an article posted in City News, the medical director of the Calgary Refugee Health Society, Rachel Talavlika, mentioned the circumstances that these refugees have to endure. Alongside very challenging transitions, Talavlika reports on the fact that if the refugees are not part of a resettlement system, their health and well-being decline, which then leads to a surge of health crises.

According to Talavlika, the reason why the refugee clinic was created in the first place was due to the fact that most emergency rooms or walk-in clinics do not meet the needs of those suffering from such situations. Talavlika also mentioned that if the CRHC shuts its doors, these patients will suffer costly consequences.

With refugees working hard and making contributions in Calgary, the lack of healthcare could also affect Alberta, and the rest of Canada as well since these refugees are hard workers who are more than willing to contribute to our society.

The clinic also offers services for the better transition of refugees to other parts of Canada as some refugees initially enter Calgary as their first port of entry.

With the financial support of $1.6 million being pulled out, they have about five months left to gather enough money to keep the lights on. So far, only $10,480 has been donated since crowdfunding began 27 days ago at the time of writing this article.

Amirmohammad Bagheri is a Staff Writer for The Reflector 2024-2025.