The Canadian Council for Refugees says Canada's decision to welcome an unlimited number of Ukrainians to Canada on a temporary basis marks a positive and hopefully permanent change to the way the country handles major crises around the world.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced Canada would allow Ukrainians to apply for an expedited visa to stay for two years, without conditions like language requirements or labour market impact assessments.
Janet Dench, the executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, says it has always been a fundamental principle of Canada's immigration system not to allow people to come on a temporary basis who may not leave when their visa expires.
She says that principle has prevented many people from war-torn regions from coming to Canada in the past.
She says the idea to offer temporary refuge to some of the one million people who have fled violence in Ukraine is a good one, and she hopes it sets a new precedent for Canada.
Dench says the question must also be raised about why similar opportunities have not been offered in other circumstances, like the crisis in Afghanistan, and she has called for the government to draft objective criteria that would dictate the response to immigration emergencies around the world.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2022.
