The National Council of Canadian Muslims wants the federal government to ease a prohibition on Palestinians seeking shelter in Canada with extended family members leaving Gaza.
refuge for thousands of Palestinians in Canada
Before the unique extended family program for Gaza residents begins next week, Palestinian Canadians appealed for months for government assistance in rescuing their loved ones during the Israel-Hamas war.
If their families can sustain them, up to 1,000 Palestinians might seek refuge in Canada for three years under the system.
Last month, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said it was uncertain how many would benefit, but it would be "in the hundreds."
A week later, the FDA published the program's policy.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada would stop the program after 1,000 applications or a year.
"There should not be a cap," stated communications director Uthman Quick.
The cap "takes into account the volatility on the ground as well as the difficulty that Canada and other like-minded countries are having in moving people from Gaza to Egypt," Immigration Department spokesperson Matthew Krupovich said Tuesday.
Last month, Miller said that Ottawa has no control over who can enter the tightly regulated Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on any given day, making safe passage out of Palestinian territory difficult. Even getting Canadians out of battle has been difficult.
Toronto immigration lawyer Yameena Ansari believes the quota understates the number of needy people.
Ansari supported the concept as part of the Gaza Family Reunification Project, an informal immigration lawyer group.
"Just between the lawyers in this group, we know more than 1,000 applicants," Ansari said, calling the cap "heinous."