Alberta government pausing recent policy change that cut off health coverage for some temporary foreign workers

The Alberta government is hitting pause on a recent policy change that cut off health coverage for some temporary foreign workers, including youth coming to Canada on working vacations.

The province quietly introduced the change in early January, but it did not receive widespread attention until a C-B-C News story last week.

Now, a health ministry spokesperson says it was a “premature decision” made within the department.

The spokesperson says after hearing concerns from workers and employers, it’s pausing implementation on the policy while it reviews the change.