Advocates urge Canada to ease entry for Palestinian students from Gaza

Human rights organizations and academic advocates have called on the Canadian government to urgently dismantle bureaucratic obstacles preventing Palestinian graduate students from escaping the Gaza Strip. At a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, representatives condemned what they described as a deliberate policy of imposing exceptional barriers on 130 students with Canadian university acceptances, leaving them trapped in a war zone.

Criticism of Government's 'Exceptional Screening Regime'

Taha Ghayyur, Executive Director of Justice for All Canada, directly criticized Immigration Minister Lena Diab's recent defense of the process. He stated that her insistence that students "must still meet all requirements" shows "no consideration for the catastrophe facing Palestinians in Gaza." Ghayyur argued this is a "deliberate policy decision" that fails to adapt existing crisis frameworks, such as the biometric waivers and expedited processing granted to Ukrainians following Russia's invasion.

Disparate Treatment and Human Cost

Nir Hagigi of Independent Jewish Voices Canada presented stark figures highlighting disparate treatment. He noted that while 81% of applications from Ukraine were accepted in 2023, only 16% of Palestinian applicants were approved. "These numbers so clearly show whose lives are treated as urgent and whose are treated as disposable," he stated. Nadia Abu-Zahra from Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk (PSSAR) reported the human toll: two students have been killed, over 20 injured, and several have lost their admissions due to delays exceeding 18 months.

Calls for Immediate Action and Ministerial Authority

The advocates outlined clear demands, urging the government to reverse refusals, evacuate students still in Gaza, end delays for those processed in Egypt, and restore priority processing. They emphasized that Minister Diab holds the authority to waive biometric requirements but has declined to use it. They concluded that Canada's inaction "undermines its global credibility" and represents a choice not to help civilians facing mass atrocity.