"The glaring disparity between Canada’s response to white European Ukrainians and Arab Palestinians raised by CJPME’s report suggests that IRCC’s statements cannot be taken at face value. The article clearly needs follow-up interrogating the government's claims and challenging its inaction. I would suggest at the very least including some of the criticism I’ve raised regarding the flaws of the Gaza visa program."
June 26, 2025
Dear CP24 newsroom,
I am writing to you to express my concern regarding your article titled “Lengthy visa delays preventing dozens of Palestinian students from studying in Canada, group says.”
Heather Wright exposes the plight of students from Gaza waiting up to two years for Canadian visas to take up university places waiting for them. The item could use further context, however.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says in its statement that “processing times can vary based on a variety of factors, such as whether an application is complete, if IRCC has to wait for additional information, how easily IRCC can verify the information provided, and the complexity of an application.” This explanation doesn’t add up.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Canada welcomed nearly 300,00 Ukrainians under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET), which provided federally funded settlement services and in-Canada supports, including transitional financial support and temporary accommodations. By contrast, only 200 Palestinians have been admitted to Canada through the temporary visa (TRV) program, introduced in early 2024 by IRCC to help reunite Canadians with family members stuck in Gaza.
“Intended to Fail,” a recent report by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), asserts that the TRV was intentionally designed to limit the number of Palestinians who could find safety in Canada, based on racist assumptions about Palestinians as potential security threats and/or as “terrorists.”
The glaring disparity between Canada’s response to white European Ukrainians and Arab Palestinians raised by CJPME’s report suggests that IRCC’s statements cannot be taken at face value. The article clearly needs follow-up interrogating the government's claims and challenging its inaction. I would suggest at the very least including some of the criticism I’ve raised regarding the flaws of the Gaza visa program.
Sincerely,
Richard Fung