The foreign national

C10. IRCC Policies and ManualsPublic Policies

Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for certain refugee claimants working in the health care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic

Recent media reports and stakeholder interventions have drawn attention to the extraordinary contribution of refugee claimants working in Canada’s healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in long-term care centres in Quebec. In some cases, these individuals contracted COVID-19 and some may have passed away due to this illness and left behind family members in Canada. As these individuals face an uncertain future in Canada, it has been suggested that the current circumstances merit exceptional measures to provide these individuals with Permanent Residence status in recognition of their service during the pandemic.

While most of the attention has been focused on Quebec, there are refugee claimants across Canada who are doing similar work and facing similar risks to their health.

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