NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan asked the minister Monday to formalize the process of getting extended family members out of the embattled territory.
“I assume that the government is doing something on a one-off basis and perhaps that’s why some people managed to get to safety. But that’s not good enough, it is not the right approach,” Kwan said at a press conference Monday.
In an open letter signed by the entire NDP caucus, Kwan urged the government to facilitate the evacuation and reunification of extended family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents from Gaza.
“The situation in Gaza is getting so desperate that literally, as we speak, people’s lives are being lost,” she told reporters at a press conference outside the House of Commons.
OTTAWA—The Carney government is set to tweak some parts of its controversial reforms to police search powers, as it tries to push the bill through Parliament in the face of widespread opposition.
The Star has learned the Liberals are preparing to halve the time electronic service providers would have to retain Canadians’ metadata from one year to six months, according to two sources with knowledge of the changes who requested anonymity to speak freely.
A two-year expiry to potential ministerial orders requiring a company to upgrade their systems to make it easier for police to intercept private communications will also be added to the legislation, according to the sources.
The Carney government is also expected to add “protections for encrypted communications,” as Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree promised this week, after critics warned that wording in the legislation — which gives providers the option to refuse compliance if it would introduce a “systemic vulnerability” — was too vague. It’s not yet clear what exactly that will look like.
Those concessions and other proposals from opposition parties are expected to be presented at a committee meeting Thursday, a final marathon hearing in the House of Commons after the Liberals moved to shut down debate and accelerate the legislation while accusing the Conservatives of obstructing Parliament.
Bill C-22, the lawful access legislation long-sought by Canadian police and spy agencies who say it’s a necessary modernization, still has to pass through the Senate before becoming law.
