We live in an interconnected world, and events transpiring worldwide ultimately affects Canadians, whether we are speaking about economic trade, global prices of goods and commodities, knowledge and skills exchange, effects of climate change, disease transmission and control, natural disaster management, and others. Fulfilling our international obligations protects and serves the interests of Canadians.
People fleeing war, persecution or natural disasters face tremendous barriers to obtaining necessary travel documents. For this reason, I have been advocating for visa-free travel for urgent, life-and-death situations such as the war in Ukraine. I have also been advocating for the government to rescind the safe third country agreement because often, refugees cannot get to safety without first going to a third country. It is paramount that Canada has an adequately resourced immigration system that can act with flexibility and expediency in times of crisis without compromising national security standards.
As your Member of Parliament, I will fight to ensure Canada fulfills its humanitarian and environmental obligations as a member of the international community.
Hamilton Spectator: Hamilton man leads lobby effort to evacuate family from war torn Gaza
Rani Hemaid’s quest to bring home relatives who live in fear and deprivation in war-torn Gaza took him to Parliament Hill.
The Hamilton man drove to Ottawa with two others at 3 a.m. on Dec. 4, and eight hours later was speaking at a microphone inside a lobby in the House of Commons, urging the federal government to step-up evacuation efforts for loved ones of Palestinian-Canadians.
The government's policy is to facilitate evacuation of immediate family members of Canadian citizens, defined as a spouse or child under 22.
"I want to ask the Canadian government, on what grounds do you define who qualifies to live and whose lives are not worth saving?" Hemaid said at the microphone, flanked by politicians and members of a group called "Campaign to Reunite Our Families."
