The pandemic has shown how much people depend on Internet and cellphone services to stay connected, work and study. The reality is that Canadians are tired and frustrated from paying high fees for Internet services that make big, rich telecommunications companies even richer. They feel like they are being ripped off, especially people who are struggling to get by with the cost of groceries, gas for their cars and other bills pilling up.
Today's announcement is a first step, but government eligibility criteria still excludes many low-income families and seniors who depend on Internet services.
Since Justin Trudeau came to power, instead of taking action to reduce internet charges, his government has protected the monopoly and profits of telecom giants at the expense of the people who pay some of the highest fees in the world.
Open Letter: Gaza Family Reunification Measures
Over the past two months, I have become aware of more than two-hundred Palestinian Canadians with either citizenship or permanent resident status across the country that have applied to sponsor their family members in Gaza to come to Canada through the family reunification program. These families have begun the application process to bring nearly 2,500 loved ones from Gaza in total. Of these family members stuck in Gaza, 78 per cent are still waiting to receive the code from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that is required to proceed to the next phase and complete their application.
Your department has stated that 986 people have received a code and used it to submit a temporary resident visa (TRV) application which has been accepted into processing. It is apparent that the code issuing system works in lockstep with the 1,000-person cap to severely restrict the inflow of applications. It should be abundantly clear that you must lift the cap.
It has been almost seventy days since the program opened for applications on January 9. These families are desperate to know when, or if, loved ones will be allowed to come to Canada. For many, the news is consuming their life as they anxiously await to hear from IRCC officials regarding their application. Yet they are met with radio silence from IRCC. The process is frankly excruciating to for family members. The federal NDP caucus has already condemned this non-communicative approach, called on you to lift the arbitrary cap, and change the discriminatory lens through which this policy approaches Palestinians.