Palestinians line up for a free meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Dec. 21. International aid agencies say Gaza is suffering from shortages of food, medicine and other basic supplies as a result of the two and a half month war between Israel and Hamas.Fatima Shbair/The Associated Press
Hundreds of Palestinians with relatives in Canada are expected to come to this country to escape violence in the Gaza Strip under a temporary immigration program announced by the federal government.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the immediate family of Palestinians with Canadian citizenship or permanent residency will be eligible to remain in Canada for three years in a move designed to bring them to safety while war rages in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.
The program, which relies on Palestinians being able to exit Gaza and pass security checks, is “about providing a humanitarian pathway to safety,” Mr. Miller said. “And recognizing the importance of keeping families together given the ongoing devastation.”
He said the Israel-Hamas war, which followed the attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, “has created a humanitarian catastrophe of an unprecedented scale in Gaza.”
Palestinians and Israelis in Canada who feel it is not safe to return will not be sent back if their visas and work permits expire but will have the option to apply, without fees, for a study- or open-work permit in Canada, Mr. Miller said.
Palestinians already living in Canada applying for permanent residency will go to the front of the queue, making it possible, once approved, to sponsor family members in Gaza to join them.
The announcement was welcomed by Palestinian Canadians who have been urging the government to permit their families to join them. Among them is Reem Sultan, a pharmacist from London, Ont., who has an uncle, aunt and cousins in Gaza whom she visited last summer.
She said one of her cousins has been killed in Gaza and other family members are living in fear for their lives since Israel began bombarding Gaza with air strikes and artillery.
“Everybody wants a chance to live. Nowhere is safe,” she said. “On the ground it is extremely difficult.”
At a press conference in Parliament on Thursday, Mr. Miller cautioned that the situation on the ground may interfere with people’s ability to exit Gaza through the Rafah crossing to Egypt, and Canada could not guarantee safe passage.
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Family members who manage to make it to Egypt will have additional security screening in Cairo, including biometric checks, before they come to Canada.
Mr. Miller said he expects hundreds of Palestinians to come to Canada under the program. He said the government will monitor the situation closely and adapt the program if need be.
Family members eligible for the program include the husbands, wives and common-law partners of Palestinian Canadians and permanent residents, as well as their children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents and cousins. The program will be up and running on Jan. 9.
It is “important to highlight how difficult it is to get through the Rafah Gate at this time or any other exit from Gaza,” he said. “These are situations that are not under control.”
In an earlier interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr. Miller said any effort to help Palestinians will “butt up against the reality on the ground,” including the vetting of lists of names at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
“It’s very much an active debate as to who gets on the list, who gets off it, and the authorities in place are very reluctant to allow anyone out that isn’t Canadian or a permanent resident,” he said earlier this month.
Canada’s security vetting of Palestinians in Cairo before they come to Canada raises practical questions such as “what do you do with a person that fails” security checks, Mr. Miller said, including whether they would be sent back to Gaza.
He told The Globe that the prospect of a Hamas fighter or commander involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel evading security screening and making it to Canada to avoid Israeli forces “is probably the most extreme security concern that we have – and I think it’s very real.”
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, the government introduced a temporary visa program for Ukrainians fleeing the war in their homeland for safety in Canada – although they did not need to have family in Canada to come here. The Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel allows an unlimited number of Ukrainians fleeing the war to work, study and stay in Canada for up to three years.
Since it was introduced, more than 210,000 Ukrainian nationals have arrived in Canada. Most of them do not want to return home, according to a study by Pathfinders for Ukraine, an advocacy group for Ukrainians displaced by the war.
Taha Ghayyur, executive director of Justice for All, said the program for family members of Canadians in Gaza is a “promising step in the right direction” but there are practical difficulties, in the absence of a ceasefire, for people who may want to come here, including mobility and communication in Gaza.
He said the most vulnerable, including wounded people who require immediate medical attention, as well as children and pregnant women, should have priority.
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East also welcomed Mr. Miller’s announcement.
“These temporary immigration measures promise huge relief for Canadians whose loved ones have spent over two months trapped in unimaginable conditions,” said Michael Bueckert, the group’s vice-president.
Canada will not offer Palestinians flights from Egypt to Canada, but may in some circumstances offer loans to cover transportation costs, Mr. Miller said. Palestinians may be able to apply for time-limited medical coverage to pay for immediate medical needs on arrival.