Ottawa is facing calls to expand a temporary immigration program that gives people who have managed to escape Lebanon a safe haven in Canada, with MPs and immigration experts saying the measures are too limited and leave relatives of Canadians in peril.
Earlier this week, the federal government announced a program that will allow Lebanese nationals and their immediate families to extend their stay in Canada so they can avoid the fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah that has escalated over the past five weeks.
Lebanese nationals who are already in Canada, and their spouses and children, can apply without charge for a work or study permit so they do not need to return home. Those who have temporary-resident status can apply to extend it, and people who came here from Lebanon as visitors can also ask to extend their visitor visas in Canada for free.
But critics say the measures, which will be in place until July 31, are far more limited than other programs the government has established to help people fleeing war zones, including Ukrainians and Palestinians in Gaza.
They want the program to be expanded to include family members still in Lebanon, including extended family such as grandparents.
Toronto-area Liberal MP Salma Zahid, who represents a large Lebanese community in Scarborough, said they are very concerned about the safety of their extended family.
“I have many constituents with loved ones in harm’s way,” she said in a statement. “While I welcome the government’s announcement of measures to help those already here, I believe there needs to be a special measure to help the extended family of Canadian citizens and permanent residents find temporary safety here in Canada.”
Mariam Jammal, a Lebanese-Canadian immigration lawyer, said the program is “too small a step and too limited.”
She called on Immigration Minister Marc Miller to establish a pathway for Lebanese similar to the temporary visa program set up to help Ukrainians come here after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, 2022. The Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) allowed an unlimited number of Ukrainians to flee the war to work, study and stay in Canada for up to three years.
Ms. Jammal also said Canada should establish a comprehensive evacuation strategy to help Canadians and permanent residents in Lebanon and their extended family members.
Before this year’s conflict started, there were an estimated 40,000 to 75,000 Canadians living in Lebanon. The federal government has been urging Canadians to leave for months and last month was block booking seats on commercial flights to help them.
But it has stopped short of instigating a mass evacuation, although it has drawn up contingency plans. During the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006, Canada hired ships and chartered aircraft to ferry about 15,000 of the estimated 50,000 Canadians living in Lebanon to safety.
“People are being faced with the choice of leaving behind their parents, grandparents, their siblings, their aunts and uncles in the middle of a war zone,” said Ms. Jammal, a lawyer with Toronto law firm Sobirovs.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said more than 2,900 people have been killed since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, drawing retaliation. Most of the deaths have occurred in the past five weeks, after Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of October to take on Hezbollah. Some 1.2 million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to government estimates earlier in the week.
NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan questioned why the emergency visa program for Ukrainians has not been repeated for people in other conflict zones.
“The government has announced measures for those who have already left Lebanon, but nothing for those who are in still in grave danger and desperate to get to safety. This is unfair and unacceptable,” she said in an e-mail. “The Liberals need to act urgently to allow extended family members of Lebanese Canadians and permanent residents to seek refuge and reunite with loved ones in Canada.”
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The temporary immigration program set up to help Palestinians in Gaza escape the conflict between Israel and militant group Hamas and join relatives in Canada applied to the extended family of Canadians.
But only a small proportion of applicants have made it to Canada, with the closing of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.
Aissa Diop, director of communications for Mr. Miller, said that “it would be inaccurate to compare different programs as geopolitical realities vary.”
“Our priority must be to keep Canadians and permanent residents safe, and we continue to urge Canadians to avoid all travel to Lebanon. Canadians, permanent residents and their family members are advised to leave by commercial means now if they can do so safely,” she said.
“As we continue to monitor the situation, we are committed to doing everything we can to help Canadians coming home, while also providing temporary safety for Lebanese nationals in Canada who no longer feel safe returning.”
With reports from Associated Press and Reuters
