People who are desperate to relocate their extended family members to Canada amid COVID-19 have received some hope from the federal government.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino disclosed recently that more family members of citizens of Canada and permanent residents are now qualified to enter Canada.
The Minister said: “The pandemic is an ongoing threat and we need to continue to be cautious and restrictive about who can enter into Canada.
“We recognize, however, that these restrictions should not keep loved ones apart.”
People that are now qualified to enter into Canada include siblings, adult children, grandparents and those that have been in a committed relationship for a minimum of one year, which will be proven by a notarized declaration.
Their entry process will be posted online soon and those who already have the needed documentation can enter from October 8.
While this arrangement might offer hope for family reunions for Thanksgiving, Mendicino disclosed nobody should draw travel plans before they’ve been authorized.
Also, the federal government is launching a compassionate-entry program for people who are not eligible to apply as family but wish to enter Canada for particular reasons, like seeing a dying loved one.
People granted compassionate entry may be exempted from the current 14-day quarantine requirement while every other traveller must quarantine and comply with every other screening measure that was put in place.
The wider border restrictions with the United States are in place till October 21 while restrictions on travellers from other countries will be in effect until October 31.
Also, International students are being shown more flexibility and from October 20, they will be admitted if their schools have been certified by provincial governments as putting in place suitable COVID-19 plans.
While reacting to the development, Conservative immigration critic Raquel Dancho said the new changes are welcome but a lot of the changes came too late.
She said her party would be monitoring closely to find out if the new measures are effectively implemented and charged the government to forge ahead with other alternatives for safe reunification.
She said: “The Liberal government must provide rapid testing for airports and other points of entry into Canada so that Canadians can be reunited with their loved ones safely and protect the public.”
While talking about the development, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the new measures came in response to what officials have discovered about how COVID -19 is spreading in Canada.
He said community transmission is the greatest challenge and imported cases from outside the country constitute a tiny percentage of the total.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu disclosed recently that the new border guidelines were taken in conjunction with local health authorities.
She said: “This disease is not going away any time soon. Countries will be struggling for a very long time.
“This government believes firmly in compassion and we know that we needed to take these steps, given that this is not a short-term problem.”
