Support Efforts to Get Canada to Reunite Palestinian Canadians with Family in Gaza

Written by Making Headlines

Published in News

On December 12, Gaza Family Reunification Project (“GFRP”), "an ad hoc collective of Canadian immigration and refugee lawyers" launched a petition on Change.org calling for the following:

We are calling on the Government of Canada to immediately implement the following interim special measures:

Expand evacuation criteria to include extended family members, such as parents, adult children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and de facto dependents in Gaza with family ties to Canada and those pre-authorized travel to Canada.
Expedite processing of Temporary Resident Visas (TRVs) for Gazans with family ties to Canada.
Waive all fees associated with applications for TRVs and TRPs
Commit to a flexible approach to evaluating TRV requirements to recognize the practical limitations caused by the situation in Gaza.
Postpone biometric and medical requirements until individuals reach Canada
Expedite processing of all immigration applications in process for Gazans in Canada to facilitate family reunification, including applications for permanent residence under refugee family reunification programs and family sponsorships.
Expedite processing of all immigration applications in process for residents of Gaza.

To sign this Change.org petition, click here

The Gaza Family Reunification Project has also disseminated a TRV Toolkit (click here to access it) that many Canadian families are using to file applications on behalf of their Gazan family members. Canada should expedite applications received using this Toolkit and also all other Gazan TRV applications.

The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, the Canadian Council for Refugees, and over 550 Palestinian Canadian Families have also called on Canada to adopt an immigration framework responsive to the urgent situation in Gaza.

At the Federal level, the New Democratic Party called on the federal government to immediately enact special immigration measures to facilitate the evacuation of extended family members of Canadians and permanent residents in Gaza.

In the province of Ontario, the New Democratic Party of Ontario passed a unanimous consent motion in the Legislature to call on the federal government to immediately enact special immigration measures to facilitate the evacuation and reunification of extended family members of Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents in Gaza.

There is currently a House of Commons petition, sponsored by NDP MP Jenny Kwan, calling upon the Government of Canada to immediately create direct pathways for emergency travel of Palestinians to Canada and establish a policy for permanent residence for immediate and extended Palestinian family members in Canada.