Canada faces lawsuit over delays in Gaza visa programme | Gaza News [Video]

Montreal, Canada – Palestinian families are suing the Canadian government over delays in the issuance of visas meant to allow them to escape Israel’s deadly war in Gaza and receive temporary protection in Canada.

Filed in the Federal Court of Canada this month, on behalf of 53 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with family members in Canada, the lawsuit alleges that the country’s special visa programme has been plagued by inefficiencies.

Hana Marku, a Toronto lawyer representing the families, said all of her clients submitted a form expressing interest in the visas within the first month of the scheme’s launch in January 2024.

However, none have received the unique reference codes needed to move to the next stage of the process, which is the submission of their relatives’ Canadian visa applications.

The prolonged delay has left their Gaza-based relatives open to “life-threatening and inhumane conditions” in the Palestinian territory, where Israel has bombarded cities, neighbourhoods and refugee …