The Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers (AQAADI) has formally requested Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lena Metlege Diab, to establish an exceptional humanitarian pathway. The proposed policy aims to facilitate family reunification for Venezuelan citizens affected by the devastating earthquakes that struck the South American nation on June 24, 2026. According to a report by Radio-Canada (RCI), the legal association sent a formal proposal on July 22, urging Ottawa to act swiftly in the face of an unprecedented humanitarian emergency.
The Scope of the Crisis
On June 24, 2026, Venezuela was hit by two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale. The tremors devastated several regions of the country, including the capital city of Caracas. According to Reuters figures cited in the lawyers’ letter, as of July 15, the disaster had claimed at least 4,829 lives, left more than 16,700 people injured, and displaced nearly 18,000 individuals who lost their homes.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that approximately 1.8 million people are currently in need of urgent assistance, including 680,000 children. AQAADI emphasized that this natural disaster has struck a population already struggling under the weight of a prolonged and deep humanitarian, economic, and institutional crisis. Lawyer Fanny Cumplido described the proposed measures as “an exceptional measure for an exceptional event,” highlighting the profound sense of powerlessness felt by legal professionals operating under existing, rigid frameworks.
Expanding the Definition of Family
The core of AQAADI’s proposal, drafted by board member Virginia Cabello and signed by co-presidents Gabrielle Thiboutot and Yves Martineau, lies in a significant expansion of the criteria for family reunification. Under current Canadian immigration programs, reunification pathways are generally restricted to spouses, common-law partners, and dependent children.
The lawyers’ letter requests that Canada broaden this definition to include adult children of any age, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, and siblings. Additionally, the proposal outlines several critical operational adjustments:
- Fast-tracked temporary admission: Accelerated visa processing for urgent humanitarian cases.
- Fee exemptions: Waiving processing fees for affected applicants.
- Flexible documentation: Allowing alternative or flexible proof of identity and relationships when official documents were destroyed or rendered inaccessible by the earthquakes.
- Sponsorship commitment: Requiring the Canadian relative (citizen or permanent resident) to act as a “support person,” legally committing to cover the housing, integration, and basic needs of the newcomer for at least the first year.
Precedents and the Quebec Challenge
AQAADI’s letter points to existing historical precedents where Canada successfully implemented similar special measures. In 2023, Ottawa launched a family-based migration pathway for citizens of Colombia, Haiti, and Venezuela, which successfully accommodated 15,000 applicants before closing. The lawyers argue that because the administrative framework for receiving Venezuelan nationals has already been tested, reactivating and adapting it to the current post-earthquake context would be a highly efficient solution.
A key hurdle in previous initiatives has been provincial participation. The province of Quebec did not take part in the 2023 program, meaning Quebec-based sponsors were unable to bring their relatives to Canada under that policy. For this new initiative, AQAADI is actively lobbying the provincial government to participate, ensuring that residing in Quebec does not exclude eligible Venezuelan-Canadians from sponsoring their affected family members. The association also cited other recent humanitarian efforts, such as Canada’s special programs for Haiti and Gaza in 2024, and Sudan in 2025, alongside Ottawa’s ongoing suspension of removals to Venezuela, which has been in place since January 24, 2019.
Official Response from Ottawa
In response to inquiries from RCI, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) spokesperson Melissa Zeroual stated that the federal government remains deeply concerned about the situation in Venezuela and continues to support ongoing international humanitarian response efforts.
However, Zeroual clarified that the previous 2023 program remains closed to new applicants, as the allocated spots have been fully filled. She noted that IRCC is still processing applications submitted prior to that program’s closure in accordance with public-interest guidelines. While emphasizing that existing pathways—such as standard family reunification, economic immigration programs, and refugee resettlement—remain open to qualifying Venezuelan citizens, Zeroual concluded that the ministry “cannot speculate on future measures.” As of August 3, 2026, AQAADI had not received a formal written response to their proposal from Minister Lena Metlege Diab’s office.