Canadians with family in Gaza and the Ontario NDP are urging the federal government to expand the criteria for refugees to include the extended families of Canadian citizens.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles introduced a motion to urge the implementation of ‘Special Immigration Measures,’ which was previously enacted during a crisis situations in Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Canadians like Rana, Noora and Nesma are among those advocating for a sponsorship program that expands the eligibility criteria to also include parents, siblings, grandparents, nieces, and nephews.
Those involved did not wish to share their last name to protect their families.
The federal government tells CityNews the only non-Canadian eligible family members include spouses or common law partners of Canadian citizens or permanent residents and their dependent children.
“We are also facilitating immediate reunification of eligible family members who are not accompanied by a Canadian or a permanent resident in Gaza,” read their statement.
Nesma, who lives in the GTA, said multiple members of her family are in Gaza, including her dad, siblings, her in-laws, aunts, and uncles.
“Since October 7, they have been moving. From one place to another, like they have almost moved 15 times,” Nesma told CityNews. “They keep moving with no idea where to go … the last time they moved from Gaza City to the south, they bombed the place they are living in so I don’t know how they survived this but thank god, they managed to go out and to reach a safe place.”
Nesma said she struggles to keep in contact with family members and has to try them at least 30 times before someone can pick up the phone. “The signal is so bad. It’s hard to reach them. And when I call them … it’s just are you okay? All of you are alive. Thank god and that’s it. But I know they are hungry, they are thirsty.”
She is the only one of her family with Canadian citizenship. Nesma said she’s their only hope to get out of Gaza. “They don’t know anyone out of Gaza to help.”
Nesma is one of many people urging the Canadian government to expand this criteria. “I sent an email … I keep calling, but there is no clear answer. My hope now is to help them, at least to evacuate them from Gaza. Because it’s not safe to stay there.”
Australia is one of the countries that have introduced a policy that allows extended family. “Canada has to step up to say, ‘Okay, now it’s our turn to help’,” said Nesma.
“We are not living day by day. We are living now minute by minute. Like every minute I feel like I’m going lose someone.”
Nesma said everyone in Gaza has lost someone. “My husband lost his uncle and 35 family members … I lost my best friend and her family, her three kids.”
Rana also has over 100 family members in the Gaza Strip who are struggling to survive. “They’re staying in shelters that have no doors in these freezing cold conditions.”
“People and children are dying just from cold weather and being hungry and obviously, the bombs are nonstop over their heads.”
Rana said her pleas to the government feel ignored. “We’re just lost for words at this point … We were trying our best to have our voices heard and it’s kind of like we’re just being ignored at this point.”
“If we can at least, evacuate our immediate family members, our aunts, our uncles, our their children from both sides of the family.”
CityNews asked the government twice if they were looking into implementing this kind of policy, but they did not respond.
Noora also has multiple family members in Gaza and said she feels powerless, not being to help them. “You feel this, this utter guilt of not having any power to support your family. And they have no one.”
“When the Ukraine crisis happened, Canada opened its doors to extended family, immediate family, even non-family … so if the government wants to make changes to its programs, it can and has the power to, it just chooses not to.”
With the war in its third month, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,900, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.
Some 1,300 people have died on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed during the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas and other militants also captured more than 240 people, including babies, women and older adults. More than 100 captives were released during a weeklong cease-fire late last month in exchanges for women and minors held in Israeli prisons.
With no new cease-fire in sight and humanitarian aid reaching little of Gaza, residents have also reported severe food and water shortages.
With files from The Associated Press
