Hong Kong Watch visits Ottawa to call for better paths to permanent residency for Hong Kongers in Canada

Hong Kong Watch Canada, along with a local group called HK Pathway Stream B (Classes of 2016 and 17 Graduates) Alliance, went on a two-day trip to Ottawa in early March 2023 to call on the Canadian Government to improve its lifeboat scheme for Hong Kongers, particularly the permanent residency policy Stream B.

On 7 March, around 20 members of the Alliance held a rally outside the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) office in Ottawa to call for the expansion of Stream B for Hong Kong recent graduates. They successfully handed over a petition to an IRCC official.

The Alliance then went to the House of Commons and handed over a petition to Hong Kong Watch’s Patron Garnett Genuis MP. MP Genuis expressed his support for the campaign to improve Canada’s lifeboat scheme, including the lifting of the 5-year graduation restriction on Stream B.

Hong Kong Watch Canada facilitated meetings for the Alliance with a cross-party group of 10 parliamentarians during the trip, five of whom belong to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. They discussed challenges facing Hong Kongers in their immigration applications, including the requirement of a police certificate and the lack of career support for Open Work Permit holders.

The full list of the MPs Hong Kong Watch Canada and the Alliance met with is as follows:

Ken Hardie MP (Liberal, Chair of the Special Committee on the Canada–People’s Republic of China Relationship)

Salma Zahid MP (Liberal, Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration)

Arielle Kayabaga MP (Liberal, Member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration)

Kyle Seeback MP (Conservative, Member of the Special Committee on the Canada–People’s Republic of China Relationship)

Senator Leo Housakos (Conservative)

Melissa Lantsman MP (Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party)

Tom Kmiec MP (Conservative, Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship)

Brad Redekopp MP (Conservative, Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration)

James Bezan MP (Conservative, Shadow Minister for National Defence)

Larry Maguire MP (Conservative, Member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration)