The unprecedented crisis in Haiti calls for exceptional immigration measures, Liberal MPs said today.

“While we welcome the initial steps taken by Minister Kenney, the scale of this natural disaster and the complete failure of Haiti’s political system require us to go further,” said Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

“Contrary to Minister Kenney’s recent claims, he has the power to create a new category for extended family reunification on humanitarian and compassionate grounds – and he should do so,” said Liberal Immigration Critic Maurizio Bevilacqua.  

“In light of this unprecedented tragedy, the Canadian way is to show compassion to the families of Canadian citizens and permanent residents trapped in Haiti,” said Denis Coderre, Liberal MP for Bourassa.  

Liberals outlined a series of additional measures that the government should act on:

• Enlarging the concept of family for those directly and personally impacted by the earthquake to allow Canadians with relatives in Haiti to sponsor their their adult siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews for immigration;
• Allow Temporary Resident (visitor) Visas on a case by case basis so relatives can be brought to Canada by family temporarily while their applications are processed;
• Allow sponsorship to begin on the spot in Haiti, rather than forcing Canadians to first return home to Canada to start the paperwork; and,
• Provide additional federal resources for a new settlement services agreement with the Government Quebec, as the home to 95% of Canada’s Haitian community.

Minister Kenney recently stated that waiving the rules or dropping restrictions “has never been done before by Canada or any other country.”  In fact, Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allows for extended family reunifications on humanitarian compassionate grounds, and was used for specific stateless Vietnamese people in the Philippines with relatives in Canada in 2005.  Mr. Kenney’s predecessor, Minister Diane Finley, further relaxed requirements for the Vietnamese in that special category in 2007.

Mr. Coderre called on the federal government to apply common sense to alleviate the crisis in Haiti, and called for greater federal cooperation with all levels of government.

“We need to act rapidly and with flexibility,” said Mr. Coderre.  “This means allowing Temporary Resident (visitor) Visas so individuals can be brought to Canada by family temporarily while their applications are processed – and allowing Canadians to start sponsorship paperwork in Haiti while they are there helping to provide relief.”

“We also need to ensure proper resources and agreements are in place to handle the influx of Haitians fleeing the disaster,” said Mr. Coderre.  “Alongside the additional federal resources being provided for processing, we need greater federal support for settlement services handled by the Government of Quebec.”