Canada to announce reduction in immigration levels today

Canada is set to make a significant change to its immigration policy as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government prepares to announce a reduction in immigration levels.

This announcement follows years of consecutive increases in immigration numbers.

According to Immigration News Canada (INC), the decision is expected to be revealed on Thursday, with new permanent resident intake targets dropping by 90,000 individuals in 2025, reducing the total from 485,000 to 395,000.

This aligns with INC’s prediction made in July 2024 regarding potential reductions in immigration targets. The revised figures mark a departure from earlier government projections that aimed for 500,000 new immigrants annually by 2025.

Revised immigration targets 

INC reports that the new immigration targets will continue to decline, reaching 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

This approach indicates a more careful view of immigration for the future. The change shows that the Trudeau administration is reacting to public opinion and economic factors.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller is set to provide a detailed breakdown of immigration programs on November 1st, 2024. Initial reports indicate that the federal economic class will face the most significant cuts.

Economic class cuts 

Further reports disclose that the economic-class immigration intake is projected to decrease by approximately 60%, resulting in the acceptance of just over 41,000 applicants in 2025.

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It means that the number of applicants accepted into the economic-class immigration program is set to decrease significantly, with only about 41,000 expected to be accepted by next year.

Although the numbers are expected to slightly recover in 2026 and 2027, they will remain far below previous targets. The overall numbers will still be much lower than what was planned before.

Economic immigration encompasses various programs, including the Agri-Food Pilot Program, Canadian Experience Class, Caregiver programs, and the Federal Skilled Worker program.

Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) 

Intake through Provincial Nominee Programs will be halved to 55,000 in 2025 and will maintain that level until 2027. This reduction significantly limits the opportunities available through provincial immigration streams.

This means that the number of immigrants accepted through Provincial Nominee Programs will reduce in 2025 and will stay at that level until 2027. This cut will greatly decrease the chances for people to immigrate through these provincial programs.

Family Reunification Programs 

Family reunification programs will also see a notable reduction. The plan includes cutting 20,000 family reunification visas in 2025, bringing the total down from 118,000 to 98,000.

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INC reports that this change may face backlash from advocates for family immigration, who argue that family reunification is a vital aspect of immigration policy.

Refugee programs and temporary residents 

The refugee program is also set to face reductions, although these numbers may fluctuate based on changing asylum claims and refugee applications.

Reports inform that for the first time, the government will set official targets for temporary residents, aiming to reduce applications by nearly 30,000 in 2025, bringing the total to just over 300,000.

It is noted that the Trudeau administration’s decision to cut immigration targets reflects both public sentiment and practical economic realities.

‘Following a recent Liberal caucus meeting, MPs expressed concerns over the popularity of the government’s policies, particularly as immigration becomes a contentious political issue in Canada,’ INC reports.

It means that after a recent meeting among Liberal Party members, some Members of Parliament raised worries about how popular the government’s policies are. This is especially relevant as immigration has become a divisive political topic in Canada.

Political implications 

With a federal election scheduled for October 2025, the government is reported to be adjusting its stance in response to increasing public pressure.

According to INC, the reduction in immigration levels indicates a notable shift in the Liberal government’s policy, moving away from the ambitious targets set in previous years.

More reports noted relate that critics from opposition parties and the public have voiced concerns about the rapid pace of population growth. The government’s decision to reduce immigration is likely a strategic move to regain voter trust as the election approaches.

The administration hopes that a more measured immigration strategy will alleviate the housing crisis, reduce strain on public services, and address rising unemployment. However, the long-term effects of these policy changes on Canada’s economy and demographics remain uncertain.

Canada to announce reduction in immigration levels today

Blinken heads to Hamas mediator Qatar on Gaza truce push

RIYADH: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads Thursday to key Hamas mediator Qatar as he seeks momentum to end the Gaza war following Israel’s killing of the group’s leader.

Two days after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Blinken was flying Thursday from Saudi Arabia to the Qatari capital Doha to hear assessments on where Hamas stands on a truce.

Blinken is paying his 11th trip to the region since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, after repeated disappointment as he seeks to end the devastating Israeli retaliatory campaign in the Gaza Strip.

But days ahead of US elections, President Joe Biden has found new hope after Israel killed Hamas supremo Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.

US officials had described Sinwar as intransigent in negotiations brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt on a ceasefire that would also see the release of hostages from Gaza.

Blinken said he spoke to Israel’s leaders “about the importance of determining whether Hamas is prepared to engage in moving forward, and the Egyptians, the Qataris are doing just that.”

“But I believe that with Sinwar gone, because he was the primary obstacle for realizing the hostage agreement, there is a real opportunity to bring them home and to accomplish the objective,” Blinken told reporters Wednesday as he left Israel.

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Critics at home and abroad say the issue was not just Hamas but the Biden administration failing to press Israel, which has received a near continuous flow of billions of dollars in US weapons.

Hamas has yet to choose a successor to Sinwar. Two Hamas sources said this week that the group was moving toward appointing a Doha-based ruling committee rather than a single successor.

Blinken said a ceasefire plan laid out by Biden on May 31 remained on the table but also hinted at a willingness to explore “new frameworks” to seek freedom for the more than 100 hostages.

Blinken is also looking for greater clarity on a plan for reconstruction and post-war governance of Gaza, seeing it as a vital component to efforts to end the war.

Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 and for more than a decade has maintained an office in Qatar, initially with the blessing of Israel and the United States.

The office has allowed communication with the group, whose main patron is US arch-nemesis Iran, with Qatar — a nimble regional player which is also home to a major US base — channelling money to support Hamas governance of impoverished Gaza.

After the October 7 attack, Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas and also killed its Qatar-based political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, while he was visiting Iran in July.

Blinken heads to Hamas mediator Qatar on Gaza truce push

Israeli raids destroy neighborhoods in Tyre

BEIRUT: Intense Israeli raids targeted the southern coastal city of Tyre on Wednesday following evacuation warnings by the Israeli army.

Although the number of people in the city had decreased, panic gripped the remaining residents, prompting them to flee.

Half an hour after the warnings by Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee, the city was targeted, with plumes of black smoke filling the sky.

The raids destroyed several neighborhoods, including hotels, restaurants and commercial institutions.

Tyre often hosts UN peacekeepers on their first break from deployments along the border region.

It comprises rich Phoenician, Byzantine and Roman remains recorded on the World Heritage List 1984.

A portion of the city, formerly known as “the onshore Tyre,” also includes Qana, Sarafand and the surroundings of Naqoura.

Maha Al-Khalil Chalabi, chief of the International Association to Save Tyre, described what was happening as “brutal.”

The destructive Israeli bombing, she said, besieged Tyre and the old town specifically.

UNESCO has warned of the need to take immediate measures to protect Tyre and Baalbek from the dangers of bombing and destruction to protect its population.

The Israeli army says that it is targeting Hezbollah’s infrastructure, while simultaneously invading several border villages to bulldoze them after bombing houses and facilities.

These villages include Aita Al-Shaab, notably the old town, as well as other villages in Bint Jbeil, which was subject to artillery shelling.

Israeli raids also targeted more than 20 villages, including Khiam, Taybeh, Chakra, Ainata, Sarbin, Mayfadoun, Habboush, Maarakeh, Kfarsir, Aaichiyeh, Jibchit, Harouf, Blat, Kfar Reman, Arab Salim and Yohmor Chkeif, killing and injuring dozens of people.

One of the fleeing residents in the south, who wished to remain anonymous, said that after remaining in his village for 22 days, what he saw “is black hell I’ve never seen in my life.”

He added: “They left us to our fate and let us down. If you see the magnitude of the destruction, you will not believe your eyes.”

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He said that “many Hezbollah members are shaving their beards and fleeing the country to Iraq.”

Hezbollah announced the execution of a series of military operations, some of which targeted “a gathering of soldiers at the eastern outskirts of the Lebanese town of Taybeh, as well as two gatherings at the Misgav Am site and at the borders of the Lebanese town of Rab El-Thalathine.”

The clashes remain intense at the triangle of Taybeh-Rab El-Thalathine-Adaisseh between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, aimed at preventing any incursion into Lebanese territory.

On Tuesday night, Israeli airstrikes hit the southern suburbs of Beirut with about eight raids targeting residential buildings that had been evacuated in the neighborhoods of Al-Laylaki and Haret Hreik, the vicinity of Al-Rayah Stadium, Al-Qaim Mosque, the Atwi complex in Al-Marija and Burj Al-Barajneh, and a building opposite Bahman Hospital, causing massive damage to the hospital.

The Israeli army reported that it intercepted “four drones on Wednesday that were attempting to approach the border, and detected the launch of 25 projectiles from Lebanon toward Haifa Bay and Upper Galilee.”

Israeli media reported “the interception of a missile in the airspace over the city of Petah Tikva, located northeast of Tel Aviv, as well as two missiles in the airspace above the Ramat David military airport in the Jezreel Valley, east of Haifa.”

The Israeli army announced that “22 soldiers were injured in battles in southern Lebanon over the past 24 hours.”

Hezbollah is mourning the head of the party’s executive council, Hashem Safieddine, who was killed in Israeli raids that targeted buildings in Al-Marija in the southern suburbs of Beirut early this October.

The Israeli raids prevented any efforts to approach the targeted site to retrieve his body to confirm his death.

Safieddine was the likely successor to the party’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel in raids that targeted his underground residence in Haret Hreik on Sept. 27.

The Israeli army announced on Tuesday evening the “elimination of Safieddine” after receiving intelligence in Beirut about the recovery of his body and the bodies of about 20 leaders.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be far from resolution, despite diplomatic efforts, and has entered a phase of attrition.

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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who arrived in Beirut, said: “Israel has significantly weakened Hezbollah, and the current task is to achieve an effective diplomatic solution.”

MP Ibrahim Mneimneh predicted that the conflict will be long.

“Israel has confirmed that it will not cease its operations against Lebanon until it has completely dismantled Hezbollah’s military capabilities, disarmed the group, and returned the residents of the north to their settlements.

“Conversely, Hezbollah asserts that it will continue to resist Israel until the last fighter.

“Therefore, it is unlikely that the fronts of combat will calm down in the near future, especially given that the US administration is preoccupied with the election campaigns for the presidential race.”

Mneimneh said: “This situation is accompanied by the Lebanese government’s inability to exert pressure to halt the war, and the ruling system that has led the country to this disaster remains determined to dismantle what is left of the state.

“Iran is stepping forward to negotiate on our behalf as if its previous interventions have not already brought devastation and ruin to all of Lebanon.”

Meanwhile, a meeting was held on Wednesday between the two former presidents, Amin Gemayel and Michel Suleiman, and former prime minister, Fouad Siniora, at Gemayel’s residence in Bikfaya.

The meeting praised Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s “stance against Iranian guardianship and hegemony and his affirmation of the sovereignty of the Lebanese state and its full control of its free decision.”

The attendees said that “efforts should now focus on saving Lebanon without any delay to stop the horrifying and open massacre of the Lebanese people at the hands of the Israeli aggression, through an immediate ceasefire and the implementation of Resolution 1701 under the exclusive authority of the state strictly and completely.”

The meeting called for supporting the parliament’s speaker, prime minister and Arab parties in these efforts.

The process of electing a president for the republic should be freed from any preconditions, and the elected president should have the confidence of parliament, they said.

“A national salvation government should be formed, and work should commence on preparing and implementing a plan for state-building that ensures economic recovery in all its forms, including efforts to rebuild what the Israeli aggression has destroyed, in cooperation with friendly institutions and nations,” a statement released after the meeting said.

The attendees called for “the need to re-establish the authority of the state over all Lebanese territories, in compliance with international and Arab legitimate resolutions.”

They also urged “adopting and implementing the financial, economic, administrative and institutional reform plan in the country.”

Siniora said: “From the first day after the 2006 July war, there was a failure to implement Resolution 1701 by Israel and Hezbollah. It is true that the state sent a large number of army personnel to the south, but at that time, we witnessed a laxity in implementation.”

Meanwhile, the 11th relief plane in the Saudi air bridge, operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, arrived at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, carrying food, tents and medical aid.

Israeli raids destroy neighborhoods in Tyre

ARAB NEWS