Canada promises opportunity, safety, and a better future—and supposedly, healthcare in Canada is something people can trust. But for many immigrant families, the journey is anything but simple. Navigating a new country often means sacrificing stability, status, and even health. For Marcia Stewart, uprooting her life in Jamaica to give her sons a brighter future in Canada led to years of uncertainty, legal limbo, and unimaginable loss. Despite doing everything right—attending school, working legally, paying taxes—her family fell through the cracks of a system that didn’t see them, until it was too late.

In this episode of Canadian Health Equity, host Maggie John sits down with Marcia to explore healthcare in Canada and her deeply personal and painful journey through Canada’s immigration system. From navigating complex visa rules to discovering her son’s type one diabetes through the Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care, Marcia recounts moments of resilience, heartbreak, and faith. Her story exposes the often invisible cost of Canada’s bureaucratic failures, where a missed payment, misunderstood rule, or denied permit can change a life forever.

Marcia’s story is a call to recognize the families holding this nation together—and to ensure that dignity and care are not reserved only for the privileged. Listen to understand the human impact of policy gaps, the role of grassroots healthcare providers, and the strength it takes to keep believing in a country after profound loss.