The NDP made the announcement Monday during a press conference and in an open letter to the federal immigration and foreign affairs ministers. The party is calling for special immigration measures that would facilitate the evacuation of extended family members of Canadians and permanent residents in Gaza.
NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the Canadian government needs to create special rules for Palestinians as they did for Syrian, Afghan and Ukrainian refugees.
According to Global Affairs, about 600 people have been able to leave the war-torn territory through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Those who left are Canadians, Canadian permanent residents and people who meet Ottawa's strict definition of an eligible family member, with exceptions. Eligible family members are spouses, partners or dependent children. Parents, siblings, or adult children over the age of 22 are excluded from this definition.
Globe & Mail: Foreign interference a 'stain' on Canada's electoral process, Hogue inquiry concludes
NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who CSIS said has been targeted by Beijing, said Ottawa must do more to protect Chinese-Canadians from intimidation and disinformation practices during election campaigns.
Ms. Kwan said she hopes Justice Hogue will recommend that election monitoring be removed from the hands of senior civil servants who answer to the prime minister.
“The report noted there is an systemic failure of communications by the government to those who are targeted or impacted by foreign-interference actors,” she said. “I strongly believe what we need is one independent agency to be mandated as the lead to take on this work.”
She also said Justice Hogue needs to hold Mr. Trudeau and his top aides to account in the final report on how his government handled CSIS intelligence that warned about China state interference and disinformation efforts.