By Canadian Press

Feds were warned about setting ‘significant precedent’ with Ukraine visa program

Jul 23, 2024 | 10:58 AM

Court documents show federal immigration officials warned that the government risked undermining the temporary immigration system with the design of the emergency visa program for war-displaced Ukrainians.

Immigration Department staff raised the concern in a memo to Sean Fraser, immigration minister at the time, shortly after the program was announced.

The documents were disclosed as part of a lawsuit against the federal government by two Afghan Canadians, who allege Canada discriminated against Afghan refugees by treating them differently than it did Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

The memos outline the design of the Ukraine visa program, which allowed an unlimited number of Ukrainians and their family members to come to Canada to wait out the war.

The policy also waived the requirement for fleeing Ukrainians to promise to leave when their visa expires, against the advice of department staff.

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Fraser ultimately agreed with the department’s recommendation not to publish the policy publicly, given the “unprecedented and exceptional nature” of the approach.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2024.

The Canadian Press