After a devastating hurricane, residents stand in the rubble of destroyed homes in southwestern Haiti.

After a devastating hurricane, residents stand in the rubble of destroyed homes in southwestern Haiti.
Photo Credit: Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo

Bring Haitian relatives to Canada faster, urge groups

The Canadian government should speed up the family reunification procedures to enable more Haitian victims of Hurricane Matthew to join relatives in Canada, argue several groups.

Wait times are very long

Citizens or permanent residents can sponsor certain relatives to come to Canada, but the procedures take a very long time.

For example, children sponsored in the Family Class from Haiti wait 26 months, notes a news release from the Canadian Council for Refugees, la Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes and la Maison d’Haiti. It says that in 2015, the processing time for refugee family reunification at the Port-au-Prince visa office was 39 months.

Follow earthquake precedent, say groups

When an earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, the governments of Canada and Quebec province (which manages its own immigration policy) sped up procedures to allow families in Canada to bring their relatives in. Advocates say they should do the same now.

Categories: Immigration & Refugees, International, Politics, Society
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