"At the time, officials actually pointed out to (the Liberal government) that this would be precedent-setting and it would be difficult for them to explain why they would not apply this to any other countries that might be in conflict zones where Canadians have loved ones and in grave danger. And those officials are exactly right," said federal NDP Immigration Critic Jenny Kwan.
"What the communities and what the NDP wants for the government to do is to treat all the communities equitably and fairly," added Kwan. "They say that it's discriminatory, they say for Ukrainians they have this high standard of special immigration measure, but that measure is not being applied for anyone else. Not for Lebanese, not for Palestinians in Gaza, not for Afghans who served Canada... all of those have limitations and are not nearly as broad as the Ukrainian measures."
"So, people are asking, ‘what is the difference?’ and the obvious answer for them is the colour of their skin."
