Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller on Thursday announced a temporary immigration program for Gaza Strip residents with Canadian relatives. Canadians seeking to ensure the safety of their extended family members in the Gaza Strip will soon have the opportunity to apply for temporary visas on their behalf.
“This expands the definition and allows us a greater set of people that may not be permanent residents or Canadians, but for all intents and purposes represent the family,” Minister Miller said at a news conference in Ottawa, adding, “Many are concerned about the safety of loved ones currently residing in Gaza. It is unlivable.”
The Washinton Post reported on Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Joe Biden at the beginning of the war to pressure Egyptian President al-Sisi to allow refugees from Gaza to settle in the northern Sinai which is part of Egypt.
According to the same report, Netanyahu’s request was rejected outright, and Netanyahu has since turned to French President Emmanuel Macron as well as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to persuade the Egyptians to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Minister Miller expects hundreds of Gazans would be eligible but was unable to provide exact numbers, stating instead that “We will do our utmost to assist but cannot guarantee safe passage. Canada does not determine who, when, or how many persons can cross Rafah on any particular day.”
Miller, 50, a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, took office as Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship in the Federal Cabinet on July 26, 2023, after serving as Canada’s Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.
But Miller stressed that so far, he had no guarantees from Israel, Egypt, or Hamas that extended family members of Canadian citizens would be able to leave.
Before the move to encourage the immigration of Gaza residents, the Canadian government had focused on getting an estimated 660 Canadians and their spouses and children out of the Gaza Strip.
According to Minister Miller, extended family members of Canadian citizens will be offered three-year visas if they meet eligibility and admissibility criteria. The Canadian government will soon start accepting applications for Gazan parents, grandparents, siblings, and grandchildren of Canadian citizens, including spouses and children of extended family members.
According to Miller, Canada has adjusted its stringent family criteria during the Gaza war and has effectively assisted certain individuals in exiting through the Rafah border. To leave Gaza, individuals must possess the necessary documents and undergo additional screening and fingerprinting in Cairo. The Immigration Department advises families to begin collecting these documents promptly, which should include evidence of their familial ties.
Israel Hayom reported in late November citing a senior security source that Netanyahu ordered the National Security Council (NSC) to prepare a staff report on immigration from Gaza and contact target countries to which the Gazans could move. According to the same source, the Mossad has contacted three countries – Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar – and proposed that they issue 3-year visas to Gaza residents, with an Israeli guarantee to let them back.
While Egypt and Jordan can be accessed by cars and busses, Qatar is far in the Gulf region, which is why the Shin Bet proposed constructing an airfield that would be reached by shuttles from Gaza.
