(Ottawa) The federal government will not waive visa requirements for Ukrainians fleeing their country. Instead, it is counting on other measures to speed up their arrival in Canada: a new emergency travel authorization and a special sponsorship channel for family reunification.
Posted at 8:08 p.m.
The war in Ukraine started eight days ago when Russia invaded its territory and carried out airstrikes. A million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filipo Grandi.
They will be able to obtain authorization to make an emergency trip to Canada and stay for up to two years. It should be available in two weeks. The government will not impose any limit on the number of Ukrainians who can make such a request. Ukrainians will be subject to security screening and biometric analysis before arriving in the country.
“A significant number of these people do not want to settle permanently in Canada,” Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said in an interview. They want to go home when it’s safe. »
The federal government will also speed up the family reunification process for those who want to reunite with loved ones and obtain permanent residency. The minister promised more details in the coming weeks.
Ukrainians who take refuge in Canada will be able to apply for an open work permit, which will facilitate their employment.
Lifting of visas requested
Although the new emergency travel authorization aims to eliminate several requirements normally required by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, it does not lift the visa requirement as requested by the Association québécoise des avocats et avocats en immigration law and the three opposition parties in the House of Commons.
“It’s a bit long, God knows where the Ukrainians are going to be in two weeks,” responded NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice.
“After that, we don’t know how long it will take to process the requests, argued Bloc Québécois MP Christine Normandin during question period. It’s not as if Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has accustomed us to speed. »
“Can the government show empathy and flexibility, as we have been asking for since January 27, and allow Ukrainians to come to Canada without a visa, right now,” asked Conservative MP Dominique Vien.
Minister Fraser argues that it was easier for the government to create the emergency travel authorization than to lift the visa requirement altogether. “It would have required changes in our computer system which would also have affected the Border Services Agency and the Ministry of Transport,” he said.
At a press conference, Minister Fraser maintained that lifting the visa would also have “opened the door” to people that Canada does not want to welcome, such as the Russian separatists who fought the Ukrainian army in the Donbass region and those who currently support the Russian army.
And the Russians?
Would Canada be ready to accept Russian immigrants fleeing the increasingly difficult economic situation in their country? “I’m sure people are thinking about this,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. I’m more concerned about the Ukrainians who are victims of this Russian aggression for, for now. »
Even if some Russians disagree with their President Vladimir Putin’s war, they will get little sympathy from the international community, according to Fen Hampson, professor emeritus of international relations at Carleton University, Ottawa, and president of the World Council for Refugees and Migration.
“A Russian who tries to get out of the country because they don’t like what is happening is not in the same position as someone whose house has just been destroyed by a bomb, underlines he. There are immediate risks in Ukraine of being shot and killed by a foreign force targeting civilians. »
The only exceptions are human rights activists and journalists whose lives are threatened by Putin’s regime.