More families will be allowed to apply to come to Canada from Gaza: Miller
CTV
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada will allow more people trapped in Gaza who have extended family members in Canada to apply for temporary refuge — but he admits the move is "cold comfort."
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada will allow more people trapped in Gaza who have extended family members in Canada to apply for temporary refuge — but he admits the move is "cold comfort."
The government launched a family reunification program in January that offers temporary refuge to parents, grandparents, siblings and grandchildren of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada initially said it would only consider 1,000 applications for the program.
Miller says the government is increasing the number of people that will be eligible to come out of Gaza.
But none of those whose names have been put forward by the Canadian government have so far been able to cross the tightly controlled border.
Miller says Canada is pleading with Egypt and Israel to let those people out so they can complete their security screening in Egypt and receive a Canadian visa.
"We are indeed increasing the number of people that will be eligible to come out of Gaza. There are a number of matters that are beyond our control, notably the ability to extract people from the Rafah gate," he said.
