Kerian Burnett, left, and Stacey Gomez, right, speak to reporters in Halifax on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. Burnett arrived in Nova Scotia from Jamaica to work on a strawberry farm, but says she was fired after her cancer diagnosis, leaving her without medical coverage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Marlo Glass

Jamaican migrant worker granted federal health care after being fired from N.S. farm [VIDEO]

A migrant worker who was diagnosed with cervical cancer shortly after arriving in Nova Scotia has been granted health insurance under a federal program.

Kerian Burnett arrived from Jamaica in April 2022 to work on a strawberry farm, and says she was fired after her cancer diagnosis and left without medical coverage.

Her lawyer, Thiago Buchert, says that after nearly eight months Burnett has been admitted to the interim federal health program.

Read more
Kerian Burnett

Healthcare for all: Kerian Burnett’s story [July 16, 1pm – Antigonish, 283 Main St.]

Kerian Burnett is a mother of six and grandmother of two. Last year, she left her home in Jamaica to come work on a strawberry farm in Nova Scotia. While working here, she received the devastating news of a cancer diagnosis. While migrant workers like Kerian support Nova Scotian farms and our economy, they are unfairly excluded from provincial healthcare coverage (MSI). Without access to MSI, Kerian is now expected to pay for expensive healthcare costs out-of-pocket

Read more
Dr. Barb Hamilton-Hinch, is an associate professor in recreation and leisure studies, and assistant vice‑provost, equity and inclusion, at Dalhousie University. Photo: Matthew Byard

Dr. Barb Hamilton-Hinch explores the stories of loss and grief in the Black community

“We don’t think about loss with land, we don’t think about loss with education and culture, we don’t think about the impact of … post- traumatic slave syndrome, and how we’ve been impacted by that,” Dalhousie professor says in episode of new web series.

Read more