People mourn over the bodies of earthquake victims outside a hospital in Antakya, southeastern Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says Canada may fast track applications to come to Canada for people in the earthquake zones of Turkey and Syria. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Khalil Hamra
OTTAWA – Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says Canada may fast-track applications to come to Canada from people in the earthquake zones of Turkey and Syria.
Two major earthquakes rocked southwestern Turkey and northwestern Syria in a matter of hours on Monday, destroying thousands of buildings.
The confirmed death toll keeps rising, with more than 19,000 people killed and at least another 64,000 injured.
Tens of thousands more are homeless in the middle of winter and struggling to access food, water and shelter.
Fraser says his department is trying to understand the effect on applicants already in Canada’s immigration system to figure out what more can be done to help them.
On Wednesday, Canada deployed a disaster assessment team to the region to determine what additional aid from Canada is needed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2023.
