Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Wednesday announced a temporary program that will allow Lebanese nationals and their immediate family to extend their stay in Canada.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Canada is offering a safe haven to people who have managed to escape the conflict in Lebanon, creating a program that will allow Lebanese nationals and their immediate family to extend their stay here.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Wednesday announced the temporary program for those who have fled the fighting in Lebanon, which has escalated over the last five weeks. It will extend to spouses and children of Canadians and permanent residents who have fled Lebanon since the end of September, but who are not Lebanese.
The measures, in effect until July 31, are a response to the intensifying conflict between Israel and Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Some 1.2 million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to government estimates. Lebanon’s heath ministry said more than 2,800 people have been killed since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, drawing retaliation. Most of the deaths have occurred in the past five weeks, after Israeli ground forces invaded Southern Lebanon at the beginning of October.
Mr. Miller, in a statement, said “we are committed to doing everything we can to help Canadians coming home, while also providing temporary safety for Lebanese nationals in Canada who no longer feel safe returning,”
The program is one of several that Canada has set up to help people find a safe haven from conflict zones, including Ukraine and Gaza.
The Lebanon measures, however, are more limited than those set up to help Palestinians in Gaza. That program allowed Palestinians to apply to join family in Canada from within Gaza.
Although large numbers of Palestinians applied, only a small proportion of applicants have managed to make it here from the war-torn enclave with the closing of the Rafah border crossing. Some have resorted to paying large bribes to cross the border into Egypt so they can get the necessary biometric checks in Cairo.
Under the program announced Wednesday, Lebanese nationals who are already in Canada, and their spouses and children, will be able to apply without charge for a work or study permit so they do not need to return home. Those who have temporary-resident status will be able to extend it, and people who came here from Lebanon as visitors will also be able to apply to extend their visitor visas in Canada for free.
There is a well-established Lebanese community in Canada that numbers as high as 400,000 people, according to figures from the federal government. Many came here during a war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
During that war, Canada carried out a large-scale evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon. The government hired ships and chartered aircraft to bring about 15,000 of the estimated 50,000 Canadians living in Lebanon at the time to safety.
Before this year’s conflict started, there were an estimated 40,000 to 75,000 Canadians living in Lebanon. The federal government has been urging Canadians to leave for months and last month was block booking seats on commercial flights to help them flee.
Diplomatic efforts have been made to end the conflict, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling last week for a resolution. He said Washington did not want to see a protracted campaign in Lebanon by Israel.
Hezbollah announced on Tuesday it has chosen cleric Naim Qassem to lead the Lebanese militant group after the killing of its long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb in late September.
The group said in a statement that Hezbollah’s decision-making Shura Council elected Mr. Qassem, 71, as its new secretary-general and vowed to continue Mr. Nasrallah’s policies “until victory is achieved.”
However, Lebanon’s prime minister expressed hope on Wednesday that a ceasefire deal with Israel would be announced within days as Israel’s public broadcaster published what it said was a draft agreement providing for an initial 60-day truce.
The document, which broadcaster Kan said was a leaked proposal written by Washington, said Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within the first week of the 60-day ceasefire.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he had not believed a deal would be possible until after Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election. But he said he became more optimistic after speaking on Wednesday with U.S. envoy for the Middle East Amos Hochstein, who was due to travel to Israel on Thursday.
“Hochstein, during his call with me, suggested to me that we could reach an agreement before the end of the month and before Nov. 5th,” Mr. Mikati told Lebanon’s Al Jadeed television.
With reports from the Associated Press and Reuters