OTTAWA – The federal government’s security screening for others fleeing the Gaza Strip is facing complaints from lawyers who say its questions are too invasive and others who think they are even more thorough.
A special program that would allow up to 1,000 people in Gaza with relatives in Canada to apply for visas was launched last week, and the federal government was looking for a run-of-the-mill detail.
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People are asked to provide their social media accounts, major areas of scars and other marks on their bodies, information about them (added about marriage), and any passports they have. they had never done so.
These questions are creating anxiety among families who fear their loved ones will struggle to answer after three months, largely without access to the internet, electricity or even good enough food or clean water, said Yameena Ansari, a Calgary-based immigration lawyer. She lobbied for the program as a member of Gaza’s family reunification project.
“It’s almost getting the same answers when you’re talking about other people fleeing their homes,” he said in an interview.
The questions are also extremely painful because they suggest that families desperate to flee the violence in Gaza are suspected terrorists, she said.
“This is not a list that we would ask of anyone who comes to Canada for humanitarian reasons,” Ansari said.
“To me, those are the questions I would ask if I knew they were a terrorist or a fighter. “
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Moreover, Lawyers for Safe Immigration, an organization formed at the start of the last war between Israel and Hamas, suggested the government in a letter last week that it ask more explicit questions about Hamas and terrorist activities than any of the terror organization’s supporters are implicated in. They are allowed to enter Canada.
Richard Kurland, a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer and member of the newly formed group, called the background questions “patently inadequate” because they do not investigate conceivable links to Hamas and the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Kurland said he understands it’s important for Palestinian Canadians to get their family to Canada safely, but said it’s not something that can be done “blindly.”
Once a bad actor enters Canada, their deportation is a very long and complicated process, he said.
Last weekend marked the 100th day of the war, which erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched a stunning attack on southern Israel, killing another 1,200 people and taking 240 others hostage.
The reaction of the Israeli army was almost immediate: the country laid siege to the territory, restricting access to water, food, networks and electricity, and subjecting the Gaza Strip to an almost constant bombardment in its pursuit of Hamas.
The humanitarian catastrophe has displaced most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the territory says 23,000 Palestinians have been killed, though it does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The death toll has not been independently verified.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said Palestinians are not considered a greater threat to Canada’s security than people from elsewhere in the world, but the “enhanced biographic information” is part of a standard practice in cases where IRCC is not able to do initial screening on the ground.
The background questions are similar to the ones asked of Afghans who were still in Afghanistan when they applied to come to Canada after the fall of Kabul in 2021, the department said.
“As we did with Afghanistan, we will collect enhanced biographical data and conduct a security check while the applicant is still in Gaza. As long as no issues of inadmissibility are reported, those who must leave Gaza will obtain their biometric knowledge in a third country,” the Immigration Ministry said in a statement.
Shortly after the initial announcement of the family reunification program in Gaza, liberal Mental Health Minister Yaara Saks said members of the Israeli network in Canada had expressed concerns about the program.
The standoff in Gaza has coincided with widespread anti-Semitism across Canada, with police reporting an increase in hate crimes targeting the Jewish community.
“This is a limited program, the security concerns are well understood and the security requirements are strict and follow reviews from Israeli authorities,” Saks assured her constituents in an Instagram post on Dec. 22, the day after the immigration program was first announced.
“I understand the considerations I have heard from members of the network. Safety is the number one priority and we will be vigilant.
Saks declined to elaborate on her comments when contacted by The Canadian Press last week.
Background questions are the first in a multi-step variety process.
If no considerations are reported, non-public key data, such as the applicant’s name, date of birth, gender, and passport data, will be transmitted to the governments of Israel and Egypt, which will conduct their own verification and determine whether or not the individual can leave Gaza. After that, applicants will still want to have their fingerprints and other biometrics checked before they can board a plane bound for Canada.
The Department of Immigration has promised to be flexible if applicants don’t have all the background data they’re asked for, however, Toronto-based Jewish immigration lawyer Debbie Rachis said flexibility isn’t written into the policy.
“It’s not written anywhere and for me it has no value,” said Rachlis, who is also a member of the Gaza Family Reunification Project.
The penalties for entering incomplete or erroneous information on the application can be significant, he said, up to and add a ban on entering Canada for up to five years.
Rachlis said she wouldn’t be able to answer some of the questions about herself, especially without written records. She said there is no real recourse for people who get refused because they can’t remember details, like all of their past work supervisors’ names.
The government is still accepting applications, and hasn’t given any estimate of when visas could be issued. The department said the application process could take longer than it otherwise would if IRCC has to wait for additional information to complete background checks.
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