Why won’t Canada’s government let Gazans come here to study?
Nada El-Falou, from the Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network, explains how Canada’s inaction is endangering students who have already been accepted into grad programs across the country
More than 100 students have been stuck in limbo as they wait for the Canadian government to approve the visas that would allow them to come here for graduate school. At least 26 universities across the country have accepted them into a wide range of programs.
But there’s something the students have in common: they live in, or are from, Gaza.
The Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk Network (PSSAR) has been sounding the alarm about the unusual delays, while some of the applicants remain in places that have been, and continue to be, bombed. They say the response from the federal government — particularly from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — has been wanting.
On this episode of Sources, Nada El-Falou, PSSAR’s director of student services, joins Ontario reporter Eric Wickham to discuss how Canada’s inaction is endangering these students, and what can be done to get their visas finally approved.
Links
• CBC Radio’s The Morning Edition – K-W – “Hear Sally Ghazi Ibaid’s audio submission to the University of Waterloo” (Dec. 18, 2024)
• PressProgress – “More Than 100 Gazans Have Been Accepted to Canadian Universities. Canada Isn’t Letting Them In.” (Jan. 27, 2026)
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