On
Wednesday, December 20 at 11 am at the Prime Minister’s office in Ottawa
(Wellington and Elgin), Santa Claus will join friends and families of those
desperately seeking immediate action from the Canadian government to issue
family reunification permits to all family members seeking to leave the
humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. It will also demand Canada take far more
robust measures to ensure all Canadians still in Gaza are able to leave as
well.
Sponsored by the Rural Refugee Rights Network – which successfully led a campaign to reunite 15 Palestinian families during and following the 2021 war against Gaza via the issuance of Early Admission Temporary Resident Permits – this family-friendly vigil will feature photos of those loved ones who need permits: siblings, parents, children, grandchildren, uncles, aunts. Family is family and all are loved. Ottawa bureaucrats trying to rationalize a refusal to act by saying certain people are not "immediate" family when they are at risk of immediate death is cruel.
Public pressure forced the Canadian government to support a ceasefire at the United Nations. Similar public pressure can hopefully open some doors at the cold-hearted immigration and Global Affairs bureaucracies.
The gathering will also present to Prime Minister Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marc Miller a number of family petitions (including https://www.change.org/p/canada-must-issue-permits-to-leave-gaza-for-4-grandchildren-of-canadian-family) signed by thousands of human beings who support the idea of providing a warm welcome for those who have been enduring horrific bombardment and mass violence that many scholars have described as akin to an ongoing genocide.
For those who cannot attend in Ottawa, we urge you to hold a vigil at your nearby Liberal MP’s office demanding immediate implementation of a special immigration measures program.
“December holidays are rooted in freeing the captives, bringing good news to the poor and brokenhearted, and liberation of the oppressed,” explains Claus. “Even if the bombing were to end immediately – as it must – there are still over 2 million traumatized people with nowhere to live, nowhere to stay dry and warm as winter comes on, no food, no adequate medical care, no clean water. The greatest gift is to recognize our common humanity and act on it.”
For more information contact the Rural Refugee Rights Network at tasc@web.ca
