Canada moves to make immigration easier for Syrians, Turkish citizens

Canada on Saturday moved to ease immigration for Turkish and Syrian citizens already in the country, a month after an earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in the two countries.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on February 6 killed more than 45,000 people in Turkey and thousands more in neighboring Syria, and devastated hundreds of thousands of buildings.

“Canada is committed to providing relief to those impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria,” said Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

The new measures would allow, for example, people from those countries to apply for work permits that authorize foreigners to work for any employer for a specified period.