WINNIPEG — Adi Sara Kreindler said she has had more than 5,000 hits on her YouTube video that satirizes Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and the government’s decision earlier this year to cut some health-care benefits for refugees. 

As of June 30, the federal government stopped providing prescription drugs, prosthetics, eye and vision care to some refugees.

 “I did a Fringe [theatre] show a few years back and I perform occasionally at coffee houses, but I have never had an audience of this size,” said Kreindler, a Winnipeg Regional Health Authority health-policy analyst who is also a songwriter.

“When I first heard about the cuts to refugee health care, I thought the policy was mean-spirited and potentially harmful to a vulnerable group of people,” said Kreindler, who is also a former Rhodes Scholar. “Not that long ago, we were the refugees, many of whom were being denied entry to Canada. This decision by the government speaks to the core of our Jewish and human values.”

Her impetus to protest was further fuelled by Kenney, who sent a thank-you note about the funding cut to his own website. Kreindler decided that she could do a better job of “thanking” Kenney.

Thank You, Jason Kenney, a 2-1/2-minute video, contrasts needy refugees with prosperous Canadians. To make the video, she assembled a troupe of family and friends called Just Theatre, and her mother, Reena, prepared the slide show that illustrates the song Kreindler wrote.

In response to the video, Kenney spokeswoman Alexis Pavlich issued a statement. “The sensible changes we made to the IFH [Interim Federal Health] Program are widely supported by Canadians,” it said. “The changes ensure that bona fide refugees continue to receive comprehensive health coverage.”

The statement goes on to say that the ministry is making sure “illegal immigrants and rejected asylum claimants… no longer receive gold-plated health-care benefits that are more generous than those which Canadian taxpayers, including seniors, receive.”

Kreindler said she felt the subject needed a light touch. “If it’s funny, some people are likely to be more motivated to click on it and become aware of the issues.”

Thank you, Jason Kenney is the second politically inspired YouTube video that Kreindler wrote and produced this year. In the spring, she satirized the government’s proposal to raise the age that people can receive Old Age Security from 65 to 67. 

 As for an encore performance from Kreindler, that will depend on what else the government might do “to tick her off.”