Some baby Yukoners are being denied health cards if the stork dropped them off overseas and not here so the territorial government can save a buck.

In the legislature Monday, Liberal Leader Pat Duncan pointed out the government's new policy of denying health cards for three months to children who are adopted outside of Canada and brought into the Yukon as landed immigrants.

Pat Living, the spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Services, confirmed today the policy was implemented to save the government money.

'Health care costs have been increasing in the Yukon by leaps and bounds,' said Living. 'This was a measure taken to manage the costs now.'

Parents who go overseas to adopt children must pay for private health care insurance or services out of their own pocket for the first three months the youngsters are in the Yukon.

In an interview after question period Monday, Health and Social Services Minister Peter Jenkins did not say the measure is meant to save money.

He said it's in place to ensure parents make sure their children have been properly tested overseas before bringing them over to Canada.

Jenkins also said the parents will be reimbursed for any health care costs they have to pay out of their pockets in those first three months the children are here.

Jenkins was asked that since the government will cover these costs, why doesn't the Yukon just cut out the extra level of bureaucracy and issue cards?

'It does add an extra bit of bureaucracy,' said Jenkins. He added this ensures the children get tested upon arrival in Canada.

When asked how this assured that, Jenkins did not explain, since parents are not obligated to get tested.

However, the reimbursements will not always be available.

'This is an interim measure,' Living said this morning.

She said about six families so far have been offered this deal because they were not made aware of the new policy.

Living said until this week, the only way for people to know about the new territorial policy would be if they contacted the department for information about bringing their new child into Canada. She said the department will do a better job of publicizing the regulation.

But in the future, there will be no repayment from the government; the parents will have to eat the entire cost for the first three months, she said.

Living said other provinces have the same waiting period.

Asked if the Yukon government is breaking the law, Living said she didn't know.

Duncan said in the legislature yesterday that according to the Canada Health Act, 'everyone is covered regardless of their income or how they came to be Canadians. Landed immigrants are covered.'

She believes this policy violates the basic five principles of the Canada Health Act.

'You should have access to the health care system.'

Traditionally, when someone moves to the territory from another jurisdiction, they have to wait three months before being able to receive a Yukon health card. However, any health care they need is paid for by using the health card from the province they were last in.

Until the old policy, any landed immigrant returning from overseas or an adopted child coming from a different nation were immediately covered by the Yukon.

This policy adds those people to the three-month wait as well. The difference is these people do not have another province's card to cover their expenses.

'It's not right,' said Duncan about what's happening to the children.

Duncan, a mother of two who gave birth to her children in the Yukon, questions why the adopted children should be treated any differently than hers.

'My babies were covered when I had them,' said Duncan.

She feels these new Yukoners shouldn't have to wait.

Most of the children in question were adopted from China. According to Duncan, from what she's heard from the parents, the children are given a medical by a Canadian doctor before coming to this country.

'Is he saying that the Canadian medical doctor who saw my baby is any difference?' Duncan asked about Jenkins.

In the legislature, Jenkins talked about the health of the adopted children.

'We want to ensure that that child that they choose to adopt is of the highest level of health care that we can possibly achieve that the health of that child is as high as it possibly can be,' said Jenkins.

'Because there were changes in the Immigration Act by the Liberal government in Canada a number of years ago that specifically exempted the classification of a pre-existing health condition as grounds to not allow a child, or anyone, to become a Canadian citizen.

'That said, Mr. Speaker, we have to work within the confines of federal legislation.'

Duncan said the minister is insinuating that Yukoners should only bring in the healthiest children even though he can't legally order that.

'It's not the minister's issue to say whether or not this child should be adopted,' she said.