Saskatoon immigrant aid society wants Ottawa to accept 10,000 Gazans: Report
Federal cabinet limited special permits to Gazans at 1,000
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The federally-funded Saskatoon Open Door Society, an immigrant aid society, is asking Ottawa to accept at least 10,000 people from Gaza, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
In an electronic petition registered with Parliament last Friday, the society is also asking that Gazans get the same free medicare, social services and legal counsel as Ukrainian war refugees.
“The present restriction to accepting the application of refugees only from within Gaza is unreasonable, inhumane and the present maximum of 1,000 individuals is inhumanely restrictive in the face of the dire threats to life they face,” said petition E-4959.
The petition was introduced by Sultan Ali Sadat, a director with the Saskatoon Open Door Society, which got $1.3 million in federal funding in 2023.
“At least 10,000 individuals” should be accepted from Gaza, said the petition.
“This is necessary to address the scale of the crisis and to provide refuge to those in urgent need of protection and assistance,” it said.
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On Dec. 21, cabinet limited special permits at 1,000 Gazans with indirect family in Canada and a total of 986 applications were received by the end of March, the majority of them men and boys. Only 14 are known to have left Gaza.
The petition was not sponsored by any Saskatoon MP, but by New Democrat Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East).
The Open Door Society did not reply to questions, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said earlier that Canada wouldn’t conduct any rescue missions in the war zone and it was up to Israeli authorities to do mandatory security checks.
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