Immigration Minister Marc Miller arrives to a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. The immigration status and supports available for evacuees who escape from Gaza Strip will have to be determined based on individual circumstances once people make their way to Canada, the immigration minister said in an interview this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The Canadian Council for Refugees says evacuees who escape from the Gaza Strip will need help to access mental-health care and housing, as well as assistance to get other family members out of the embattled territory.
The slow trickle of people allowed through the highly controlled Rafah border crossing out of Gaza has so far included 75 people on Canada’s list of anticipated evacuees, and they are only allowed to remain in Egypt for 72 hours.
The list includes Canadian citizens and permanent residents, as well as eligible family members who don’t have immigration status in Canada.
Some of the first few Canadians to escape the constant bombardment in Gaza arrived at the Toronto Pierson International Airport today.
The council’s co-executive director, Gauri Sreenivasan, says it’ll be important to make sure family members who arrive without immigration status have access to settlement services that are tailored to the trauma they’ve endured for the last month.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says services and immigration status will have to be determined based on individual circumstances once people make their way to Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2023.
