British ColumbiaA Toronto immigration and refugee lawyer has filed a petition to the federal court to force the Canadian government to speed up the resettlement process. Two Palestinian-Canadian families worry their loved ones could die while waiting.They worry their loved ones could die while waiting to be resettled to CanadaKatie DeRosa · CBC News · Posted: Aug 19, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 19S.J. is pictured in her home in Coquitlam, B.C., on Jan. 3. (Ben Nelms/CBC)Two Palestinian Canadian families in B.C. are speaking out about their battle to get their loved ones out of Gaza through Canada’s humanitarian resettlement program.They say even after applying to bring their relatives here through a humanitarian program, the Canadian government is not doing enough to help them get their families out of the war zone. They say they’re worried they could die before they’re granted visas to Canada. “They are dying slowly,” said S.J. of her parents, her siblings and their children. “There is no food. There is no medication. There is no clean water.” CBC News is not using S.J.’s full name because her identity is subject to a confidentiality order.S.J., who has lived in Canada for 25 years, applied in 2024 for temporary residency for her relatives, to get them out of the war zone and bring them to her home in Coquitlam, B.C. She said their applications remain in limbo, with no updates from Canada’s Immigration Ministry. “My family are living now in the most dangerous place in the world. I want to help my family get out,” S.J. said.She said her father’s health is failing without access to medication for long-standing health issues. She says her sister struggles to find food for her young children. The youngest, who is little more than a year old, was born in a tent and often goes without formula. S.J. has been trying to get the attention of her local MP, Liberal Ron McKinnon. On Monday, she and a group of about a dozen supporters gathered outside his office, waving Palestinian flags and chanting, “No more waiting, no more tears, bring our families over here.” Immigration lawyer files urgent petitionHana Marku, a Toronto-based immigration and refugee lawyer, is filing an urgent petition to the federal court in an attempt to force Ottawa to speed up its resettlement process for Palestinians. “Our clients don’t have that kind of time,” Marku said. “The reason why we took this very strange step of begging the court to make this decision faster is what we’ve been hearing from the families we represent is that they may be dead before this matter is resolved by the court.”Marku represents 50 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who have so-called anchor relatives in Canada. She says she wakes up every morning with a rock in her stomach, wondering “if one of my clients died [in Gaza].”The Canadian government launched its temporary resettlement program in December 2023, with an intake cap of 5,000 applications. It has reached that cap, but just over 1,700 people who exited Gaza have been approved to come to Canada, according to Immigration, Citizenship and Refugee Canada. Just under 900 people have actually arrived in this country.Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab was not available for an interview, but Immigration, Citizenship and Refugee Canada says before an application can be finalized, people need to be able to exit Gaza to complete their biometrics in a third country, as the IRCC does not have a presence in Gaza.”Movement out of Gaza remains the biggest challenge affecting how quickly we can help Gazans reunite with their family in Canada, as each country sets its own entry and exit requirements.”Families question why Canada can’t do moreNariman Ajjur, a Palestinian Canadian living in Surrey, B.C., says her father, sister-in-law and her children have passed their security screening. But still, they’re left waiting. Ajjur says the Canadian government could pressure the Israeli government to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza. “[The government] is saying that they keep advocating for their evacuation, but if I see that other countries have already evacuated some people from Gaza, including students and patients and relatives of their citizens. So our government cannot do it?”Nariman Ajjur, a Palestinian Canadian living in Surrey, B.C., says the visa applications for her family members have stalled. (CBC News)Ajjur had tried to press the Canadian government to get people out of Gaza in early 2024 via the Rafah border crossing, which is controlled by Egypt and Israel. But that border has been closed since May 2024. Israel controls who leaves Gaza and how much humanitarian aid can get in. The UN World Food Programme has warned that one-third of the 2.1 million people living in Gaza are not eating for days on end, and half a million are on the brink of starvation.The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 62,000 Palestinians have died since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 people hostage.Ajjur and fellow Palestinians have been organizing rallies at Immigration and Refugee offices across the country. “I can’t just sit back and do nothing,” said Ajjur. Ajjur starts to cry as she talks about her three-year-old nephew, who, at just 18 months old, was pulled from the rubble after a missile hit his home. Ajjur’s brother died in the impact, leaving behind his wife and their son, “who no longer smiles” because of the trauma. “With the threats now of the full invasion of Gaza, it’s getting much worse. I don’t know if my family will live for tomorrow. Each day is a nightmare for us.” Note: This story has been updated to remove details pertaining to a confidentiality order.ABOUT THE AUTHORKatie DeRosa is the provincial affairs reporter for CBC British Columbia. She is based in Victoria. You can contact her at katie.derosa@cbc.ca.
Palestinian Canadians in B.C. fighting to get families out of Gaza urge feds to speed up resettlement
