There are more than 130 Palestinian students who have been accepted into Canadian universities — but unlike other countries, Canada is doing nothing to help them get here.
In fact, in some cases, our government has been forcing these students to undergo prolonged secondary screenings.
These delays can be dangerous, or even deadly.
Twin sisters Dalia and Sally Ghazi were accepted to a PhD program at the University of Waterloo in October 2024. That December, as they filled out required documentation for a visa into Canada, an Israeli airstrike killed them.
At least four students have also been injured while waiting for their visas.
This isn’t a new problem. Just under a month ago, Aishah Ashraf covered the issue in an excellent piece from CBC.
Still, nothing came of it.
So earlier this week, advocates from Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk and Justice for All Canada, alongside university professors, made their way to Parliament Hill to demand action.
One major hurdle is that, to get a Canadian visa, you need to submit biometrics.
There’s no place for those to be collected in Gaza. Palestinians can’t leave for Canada without getting those biometrics done, and they can’t get those biometrics done without leaving Gaza.
It’s a cruel chicken or egg situation, with lives and education on the line.
On top of that, the Palestinian students who have been able to submit biometrics have faced prolonged secondary screening.
“I have never seen students excluded so clearly based on where they come from,” University of Regina professor Sean Tucker said, speaking on Parliament Hill this week.
“We must ask why Palestinian students are being treated differently.”
In today’s video, we’ll dig into this issue.
