NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, Jenny Kwan, made the following statement:
"Since 2018, the NDP has been calling for the visa requirements to be dropped for Ukrainians who wish to come to Canada. With the unprovoked Russian invasion, the need to expedite the process for Ukrainians looking for refuge in Canada has never been more urgent.
I have heard from constituents who have family members back in Ukraine that have had their visa applications rejected. Canadians are feeling helpless and frustrated because they can't get their family members to safety. By failing to remove all the bureaucratic red tape the government is leaving people stranded in a terrifying situation. Today at the Parliamentary committee on Immigration, all parties voted to allow Ukrainians to come to Canada without a visa – only the Liberals said 'no' to the final motion.
Ukrainians need an obstacle-free path to come to Canada expeditiously. Lives hang in the balance. It's inexcusable that the government isn't taking this crucial step to help innocent people in Ukraine under threat of violence.
Furthermore, to ensure action to support Ukraine at this time of crisis, all parties also voted to increase resources at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to undertake this work so that the existing backlog for all immigration streams is not further impacted by this humanitarian crisis. The government cannot repeat the mistakes they made with Afghanistan by simply moving resources around. It is very unfortunate that the Liberals voted 'no' to the final motion today."
Dozens of students and instructors gathered at Vancouver Community College (VCC) Tuesday to protest the unexpected shutdown of the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program.
LINC, which has helped thousands of immigrants learn English, secure jobs, and work toward citizenship, is set to be terminated at the end of March due to federal funding cuts.
The move has left over 800 students without a clear path forward and more than 30 instructors without jobs.
“We found out just before winter break, and this was the first opportunity to get people together to raise spirits, because people have been really down.” said Frank Cosco, president of the VCC Faculty Association.
If Ottawa lets the deadline lapse and the two-generation cut-off is thus voided, affected lost Canadians could just come reclaim their citizenship. If the court cuts the government some slack and grants another extension in light of the circumstances, the uncertainty will continue.
“During that extension period, we could very well be in an election, in which case, no bills could be passed,” said MP Jenny Kwan, immigration critic of the opposition NDP, and a staunch supporter of the bill.
I call on the Canadian government to take urgent and decisive action to:
1. Strongly condemn the Hong Kong government’s NSL and the targeting of overseas activists, including Canadian citizens and residents, and call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Hong Kong.
2. Impose targeted sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials responsible for human rights violations and the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms.
3. Stop according any special rights or diplomatic status to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade offices in Canada.
4. Expedite the processing of PR application for Hong Kongers fleeing political persecution and to automatically renew their work and study permit in the meantime.