World Courant
TRENTON, Canada
A program to grant short-term visas for Palestinians with households in Canada has been a “failure,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller mentioned Wednesday.
Canada opened the door for as much as 1,000 Palestinians, however as of Monday, solely 14 had been permitted out of 984 candidates as a result of the latter can not go away Gaza to bear a screening step in Egypt.
“It is a program that we knew from the get-go may very well be a failure,” Miller mentioned. “Thus far, it’s a failure, and it’s one thing I believe we have to acknowledge.”
The pathway, as it’s known as, opened up in January with an preliminary objective of bringing 1,000 Palestinians who have been sponsored by shut household to Canada.
The quota was shortly stuffed, however there was little motion as a result of the trail out of Gaza is managed by Israel and Egypt.
“The Authorities of Canada has put ahead names of people that handed preliminary eligibility and admissibility opinions to native authorities for approval, however doesn’t in the end resolve who can exit,” an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) spokesperson mentioned in an e-mail to World Information.
“Fourteen individuals who exited Gaza on their very own and had (short-term resident visa) functions in course of have been capable of submit biometrics and full their software.”
Miller mentioned Tuesday’s government-approved movement to droop arms exports to Israel and emphasize the necessity for a two-state answer doesn’t bode properly for the Palestinian immigration program.
“The adoption of that movement doesn’t assist getting individuals out,” he mentioned. “Any actions which are seen as to be unfavorable can have an effect on their (Israeli) decision-making on the highest political degree.”
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