Humanitarian, Refugees and Foreign Affairs

Toronto Star: Girl, 8, pleads with Ottawa to help reunite with her mother, stuck in Gaza: ‘Please Canada, try your best to help me’

Standing beside a podium in a roomful of adults, Joury Alyazji begged Canada to help her reunite with her mother, who is still trapped in war-torn Gaza.

“This month is Ramadan and my mom is not with me,” said the eight-year-old girl, with the microphone held tightly in her hands.

“I wish that every time when I wake up, I can see my mom. And I wish Canada can help me to bring my mom. I cannot be alone. I’m trying my best to speak English. I am trying to do everything to bring my mom. I wish Canada can help me. Please Canada, try your best to help me please.”

On Thursday, Joury was speaking at an Ottawa news conference to call on the federal government to urgently reform and speed up the special immigration program launched in January 2024 to provide temporary refuge to Palestinians with relatives in Canada.

Ottawa has capped the intakes for the program at 5,000 applications, which have since been filled, but many applicants are still stranded inside Gaza, unable to submit biometrics for screening or in Egypt awaiting processing.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/girl-pleads-with-ottawa-to-help-reunite-with-mom-in-gaza/article_d12bf69c-219b-4ca1-88a2-eeb85b821f28.html

Media Release: Families Separated by Gaza Siege Urge Federal Government to 
Immediately Reform and Expedite Special Immigration Measures

Ottawa — Families deeply impacted by the Israeli attacks on Gaza joined MP Jenny Kwan to call on the federal government to urgently reform and accelerate the Special Immigration Measures program established to provide refuge to Palestinians with relatives in Canada.

In January 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced a temporary public policy intended to offer safe haven to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with family ties in Canada. The government assured Canadians that if they had loved ones in Gaza, they could apply to bring them to safety. More than a year later, families say the program’s incredibly slow processing times and structural barriers have left many separated and at deep risk.

“By all accounts, this seems to be a system and a process set up by the federal government that is ultimately designed to fail. The promise of humanitarian assistance offered by Canada is, by all intents and purposes, a fiction for far too many families that have suffered through the bloodshed in Gaza,” said MP Jenny Kwan.

iPOLITICS: Conservatives introduce motion to restrict temporary health coverage

Opposition party calls on the government to restrict federal benefits received by rejected asylum claimants to emergency life saving health care only.

The Conservative Party introduced a motion in Parliament Tuesday proposing to restrict temporary healthcare coverage for asylum claimants.

This comes after a report published by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) highlighted cost pressures associated with asylum claim volumes, detailing that between 2020 to 2025, the cost of the temporary health care program (IFHP) saw a 325 per cent increase, from $211 million to $896 million.

That program provides limited and temporary coverage for urgent and essential health care services, like prescription drug benefits, to government-sponsored refugees and asylum seekers.

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner argued “two-tiered Liberal policies” favour non-citizens over Canadians and called on the federal government to “make the system fair,” at a press conference on Tuesday.

In a statement, NDP Immigration Critic Jenny Kwan said the Conservative’s motion is “counterproductive.” She said it won’t eliminate cost, instead it shifts the burden to hospital emergency rooms and provincial systems that have more expensive treatment costs.

“Emergency-only models create worse health outcomes and higher long-term costs,” NDP MP Jenny Kwan said.

Co-payment provision not enough, say tories

The federal government recently introduced a co-payment provision to IFHP that includes $4 for each eligible prescription medication and 30 per cent of the cost of other eligible supplemental health products and services, like dental care, vision care, counselling and assistive devices. It is set to take effect in May.

Kwan said a co-payment model ignores “decades” of health policy evidence that demonstrates user fees could deter access to essential care for low-income and medically vulnerable populations.

“The refugees and refugee claimants covered by IFHP often arrive in Canada after surviving war, persecution, torture, and prolonged displacement,” Kwan said. “They have extremely limited financial means”

Click image or link to read the full news story - https://www.ipolitics.ca/2026/02/24/healthcare-refugees-ifhp-temporary-conservatives-liberal/

HANSARD: Presents petition against Bill C-2 Strong Border Act

Globe & Mail: Ottawa set to reduce warrantless powers for law enforcement in refined border-security bill

Ottawa is preparing to make changes to its shelved border-security bill to try to get it back on track, including removing provisions that would have given the police and the country’s spy agency warrantless powers to demand to know whether Canadians have consulted a doctor or therapist.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s Bill C-2 faced a backlash from civil-liberties groups, lawyers and tech experts, who accused the federal government of overreach and potentially breaching the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Opposition MPs said they would not support the bill, which included a lawful-access regime granting new powers to allow the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and police services to obtain electronic subscribers’ data.

In response to the backlash, Mr. Anandasangaree shelved the bill. He instead introduced a slimmed-down version that excluded some controversial passages from the original, including one that would have enabled Canada Post employees to open people’s mail. The revised version, known as Bill C-12, has been progressing through Parliament.

The minority Liberal government is now consulting on potential changes to the original border bill to try to get opposition support.

NDP public safety critic Jenny Kwan last year said the bill was so broadly worded, it could allow the police to demand that a psychiatrist disclose the identity of a patient without a warrant.

The federal government, which has been meeting with opposition MPs and experts about the bill, is preparing to refine the wording to clarify that the new powers would not apply to obtaining Canadians’ medical information.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-set-to-reduce-warrantless-powers-for-law-enforcement-in-refined/

New Canadian Media: Sudanese Canadians waiting years to bring family from war-torn home country

Sumaya was just one of dozens of people waiting in western Sudan for a simple notification from Canada’s immigration officials welcoming her to Canada. She died in Darfur in western Sudan, before her paperwork was processed — just one piece of paper and maybe a safe flight away.

While she was waiting for a message from Canadian immigration, the war caught her and Sumaya became one of a growing number of Sudanese victims who have died with an “incomplete” file in Canada’s immigration queue. The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April 2023 and has turned into a brutal humanitarian catastrophe. Since then, millions have been caught in the crossfire of ethnic violence and starvation, with no end in sight.

In 2024, Ottawa launched the Sudan family reunification pathway, and the government announced it would be a lifeline for the Sudanese-Canadian community. But what was supposed to be an emergency way out of the country has led to bureaucratic delays and wait times that could last for years.

As of January 2026, the war in Sudan has surpassed 1,000 days of relentless violence, with conservative estimates placing the death toll at more than 150,000 and creating the world’s largest displacement crisis according to the World Health Organization.

Based on calculations by federal MP Jenny Kwan, people will wait 13 years for their paperwork to be approved.

“It is based on the number of applications in the backlog for the three categories and current processing rate based on the levels plan under ‘Other’ category,” said Kwan, the NDP’s immigration critic.

“A ِ13-year wait is a denial of safety,” Kwan told New Canadian Media. “Family reunification is supposed to be a humanitarian pathway, not a bureaucratic lottery that forces people to wait through war, displacement and famine.”

Click image or link to read the news story - https://newcanadianmedia.ca/sudanese-canadians-waiting-years-to-bring-family-from-war-torn-home-country/

CTV: Hootsuite targeted in anti-ICE protest as Pattison Developments nixes controversial deal

After days of public backlash, Jim Pattison Developments called off the planned sale of a Virginia warehouse for use by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday—as the company was facing a protest alongside Canadian tech company Hootsuite.

More than 100 people gathered outside Hootsuite’s headquarters in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood for a demonstration that became part protest, part celebration in light of the cancelled Pattison sale.

Speakers said public pressure was the driving force of change—but many emphasized there’s more to be done, pointing to Hootsuite’s ongoing relationship with ICE.

Vancouver East NDP MP Jenny Kwan said Canadians were rightfully disturbed to learn of both deals.

“It was very disappointing and shocking, frankly, to a lot of Canadians to learn that Canadian businesses are engaging in facilitating the operation of ICE,” she said.

Asked whether she would support a boycott of the company, Kwan responded: “I would be on board.”

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/hootsuite-targeted-in-anti-ice-protest-as-pattison-developments-nixes-controversial-deal/

Toronto Star: Their loved ones died waiting for Canada to let them in. Now they’re pleading on behalf of others from Sudan

New Democrat MP and immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the community faces not only an onerous application process and financial pressures to sponsor loved ones but is also competing against Hong Kongers fleeing Communist China and Ukrainians seeking protection from the Russian invasion.

Not only has Ottawa reduced the humanitarian permanent residence spots from 10,000 last year to 6,900 in 2026 and 5,000 for 2027 and 2028, Kwan said it is now processing all these applications on a first-in, first-out basis. That means Sudanese would be processed last because both the Hong Kong and Ukrainian pathways were launched earlier, she added.

Sudanese applicants “are not here in Canada waiting for their permanent residence status,” Kwan told the Toronto news conference. She projected it would take about 13 years to process all these Sudanese files. 

“They’re in a war zone trying to get to safety. The government needs to act with the commensurate urgency in bringing those families to safety.”

Click image or link to read the news - https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/sudanese-resettlement-in-canada/article_4e2dcacd-24cd-4a77-bcdb-e80e27526da8.html

Media Release: Canada’s “Promise of Safety” for Sudanese Families Is Failing — Delays Have Cost Lives

Sudanese Canadian families, joined by Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan and community advocates, held a press conference today to denounce what they describe as a false promise by the federal government to reunite families and bring them to safety, as prolonged immigration processing delays continue to result in preventable deaths.
Families shared testimony of parents, children, and relatives who died while waiting for Canadian immigration approvals—despite having submitted applications under Canada’s Sudan family reunification and humanitarian pathways.

Globe & Mail: Foreign Affairs Minister voices concerns after Canadian MPs denied entry to West Bank by Israel

Six Canadian MPs were denied entry to the West Bank on Tuesday by Israeli authorities, prompting Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand to publicly voice her disapproval of their treatment.

The NDP and Liberal MPs, part of a delegation of about 30 Canadians on a fact-finding visit, were prevented from entering the West Bank at the Israeli border crossing with Jordan.

Ottawa had given Israeli officials prior notification of the visit, and the MPs’ electronic travel authorizations had been approved, according to Jenny Kwan, an NDP MP who was part of the visiting group.

Ms. Anand said Canada has raised its objections with Israel about the treatment of the group.

“These are parliamentarians who were simply seeking to visit in a professional way, and my understanding is that denying their entry, with that objective in mind, is not in keeping with the bilateral relationship that we have shared with Israel over the course of a number of decades,” she said in an interview.

Ms. Kwan issued a statement saying: “Electronic travel authorizations to enter the West Bank were initially approved but were subsequently revoked on the day of our arrival. Israeli authorities cited ‘public security, public safety, or public order considerations’ as the basis for the denial.”

She said that during the trip to Jordan there had been meetings with Palestinians as well as the Canadian ambassador there. The delegation also met families living in refugee camps and with organizations delivering humanitarian assistance.

“I categorically reject the assertion that elected officials and civil society organizations engaging in humanitarian and fact-finding work pose any risk to public safety, security, or public order,” she added.

Ms. Kwan said the trip was organized to deepen delegates’ understanding by speaking to Muslim, Jewish and Christian families about their experiences.

“The use of security and public order narratives to limit legitimate fact-finding work is completely unacceptable,” she said.

Click image or link to read the full news story - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canadian-mps-denied-entry-west-bank-israel/