Canada Pledges Temporary Visas for 5K Gazans

Facts

• Canada announced Monday it was 'horrified' by Israel's Sunday airstrike on Rafah and it will increase the number of temporary resident visas it had pledged to Gazans by five times to 5K.¹
• Canada's Immigration Minister Marc Miller said that this special visa plan is for Palestinians who have relatives in Canada.²
• Initially, Canada set a limit of 1K temporary visas. Just 448 have been issued till now, and only 41 Gazans have reportedly arrived in Canada so far.³
• Gazans seeking to join family members in Canada must first get the Israeli government's approval to exit and complete the biometric screening process in Egypt.⁴
• Although Gazans can't currently leave, Miller said Canada wants to 'help more people as the situation evolves.' The temporary visas are valid for three years.⁵
• This comes after The Canadian Press reported that over 7.5K Canadians signed up to try to rescue family members from Gaza in January, February, and March.⁶

Sources: ¹reuters.com, ²Vanguardngr, ³JURIST, ⁴Al Jazeera, ⁵timesofisrael.com and ⁶CP24.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Counterfire. This program is a discredited farce. It requires applicants to file too much documentation and to undergo inaccessible screening in Egypt. The program's design is ineffective — as evidenced by the small number of visas that have been issued — and it's obvious Canada wants to score political points without actually welcoming more Gazans.
• Narrative B, as provided by Canada.ca. Canada is trying to do better to reunite Gazans with their families and keep as many people safe as possible. Raising the cap on the number of visas is a start, as well as coordinating with Israel and Egypt to ensure secure exits. This is a major step toward Canada helping to alleviate this humanitarian crisis.

Predictions