Palestinian Canadians and supporters have launched weekly sit-ins at federal immigration department offices, asking Ottawa to expedite the temporary admission of their loved ones from the almost 21-month-old war in Gaza.
On Tuesday, about 70 people gathered in front of the immigration outpost near Milner and Progress avenues in Scarborough, demanding a meeting with Immigration Minister Lena Diab, who they said has not responded to their request.
The ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ event under a heat warning was one of five sit-ins organized across Canada; the others are in Hamilton, Halifax, Ottawa and Vancouver, They follow months of protests and demonstrations held by the community to ask the government to expedite the processing of temporary visas for displaced Gazans.
Two months after war started between Hamas and Israel in October 2023, Ottawa announced the special measures to help displaced Palestinians with connections to Canadians to seek refuge.
But Raed Hamdan, an organizer of the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ rally, said the processing has moved at a glacial pace and more people are being killed or die of hunger every day as the war wears on.
“The government is not putting a lot of effort into evacuating our families,” said Hamdan, whose widowed sister-in-law and three orphaned nephews — ages five, eight and 12 — have been stuck in Egypt awaiting a security clearance from Canada since Jan. 17, 2024. His two other brothers and their families managed to get their security clearance, but cannot leave Gaza.
“It makes no sense. We are also losing family members while they are waiting for their Canadian visas in Gaza,” added the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ resident, a Canadian citizen, with supporters behind him chanting “Do what’s right. Reunite.”
People at the rally also carried signs that said “DELAY=DEATH” and “They fled war. Now they face silence.” As of June, the Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war already surpassed 55,000. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking about 250 people hostage.
David Wall, an ally at the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ sit-in, accused Ottawa of a double standard in offering refuge for displaced Gazan Palestinians and Ukrainians as part of its response to both crises.
“It’s great that there’s people in the war zone and you help them by giving them temporary resident visas,” said Wall, a member of the United Jewish People’s Order.
“Imagine how desperate you’d be if your grandkids or your brother or your sister were stuck in Gaza, and your hands are tied, you can’t do anything. It’s horrible. They need to speed up the process.”
As of July 1, the Immigration Department said 1,213 Gazan temporary visa applicants who exited Gaza were able to submit biometrics and complete their application, and have been approved to come to Canada; 861 of them have arrived.
Hamdan, a member of the group Gaza Families, said Canadian officials need to be transparent to applicants in reporting application status, processing timelines and evacuation numbers.
“Movement out of Gaza remains the biggest challenge affecting how quickly we can help Gazans reunite with their family in Canada,” an Immigration Department spokesperson told the Star.
“Canada continues to put forward names of people who passed preliminary eligibility and admissibility reviews to local authorities for approval but does not ultimately decide who can exit Gaza.”
With files from Ben Mussett
