Trudeau's immigration initiative for Hong-Kongers receives welcoming response in first three weeks

NewsBharati    17-Apr-2021
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Ottawa, Apr 17: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's special immigration initiative for Hong Kong residents has received over 500 applications in its first three weeks, a spokesman for Canada's immigration ministry said on Friday.


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The Canadian government had said in Nov 2020, that it would make it easier for Hong Kong youth to study and work in Canada in response to the new security rules imposed by China on the former British colony. The Press Secretary Alexander Cohen has said in an emailed statement, "In the first three weeks that the program was open (Feb. 8 to Feb. 28), IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) received 503 applications for work permits and 10 applications for work permit extensions."
 
 
According to REUTERS, the statement also added, "Canada shares the grave concerns of the international community over China's National Security Legislation and strongly supports the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly."
 
 
 

Canada is a second home for many Hong Kong residents after their families moved to the Vancouver and Toronto areas ahead of the British handover of its former colony to China in 1997. After obtaining Canadian citizenship, many returned to Hong Kong, which is now home to about 300,000 Canadians - one of the largest Canadian communities abroad.