Canada's immigration system when it comes to refugees is broken, that is a statement from the Immigration Minister. When the minister responsible comes out and says that, it holds weight.
There are 2 types of refugee's where Canada is concerned:
The first are the UN Convention refugees, those that leave their own country where they fear harm, persecution or death. They go to a nearby country , apply to be a refugee to the UN and get selected by another nation, of which Canada is one.
The second is a refugee that gets off a plane or a boat (because you cannot claim refugee status from the US unless you are an American citizen), walk up to an immigration officer and say REFUGEE in either English or french. These are the people that can afford a plane ticket, potentially a fake passport, even a fake Canadian Visa. At the Toronto airport, there has been as many as 150 refugees a DAY, all from the same country.
The second type of refugees are the ones that are taking advantage of the system, coming here, getting the "free" health care, vision care and dental care. They never complete their claim, never contribute to Canada and some are even arrested within days of their arrival in Canada, but we can't kick them out, because they are Refugees.
The immigration system is now being reworked so that we are no longer seen as the laughing stock of the rest of the world. Its still a generous and giving system, but one that you have to earn, not just be automatically granted.
As for this Byron, much like anything you read in the news, must be viewed critically. I can think of many reasons why he was not receiving medical care, but none that I can talk about on an open forum.