Eleven families from Gaza are taking the Canadian government to court for prolonging their “exposure to life-threatening and inhumane conditions” by delaying application processing under a program meant to offer relief from the Israeli-Hamas conflict, the Toronto Star reported Wednesday.

The families represent 53 people, including 27 babies and children, who have applied for visas under the temporary resident pathway for Palestinian extended family in Gaza program, launched in January 2024.

The measure provides a temporary haven for Palestinians directly affected by the war in Gaza who have ties to family members here who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents and are willing to support them

Canadian anchor relatives are required to submit a web form to the Immigration Department with supporting documentation on behalf of their family members in Gaza. Officials then review the forms and documents before providing each applicant in Gaza a unique reference code to begin the visa application process.

All of the litigants’ Canadian relatives say they submitted web forms with the proper documentation within a month of the program’s opening. To date, none have the codes, nor do they have a refusal for incompleteness, or any justification for the delay.

The program, which had been expanded from the initial intake of 1,000 applications to 5,000, ends April 22 or when all spots are filled. As of Jan. 4, immigration officials said 4,782 applications were accepted into processing.

“They were afraid that they would lose their opportunity,” lawyer Damey Lee, who represents the group, along with colleagues Hana Marku and Debbie Rachlis, told the Toronto Star.

“They are just frustrated and wholly disappointed in the Canadian government for not even providing them an explanation as to where their family members are in the process and why it has taken a year to issue codes.”

According to affidavits submitted to the court, the applicants — all with identities withheld under a court order to protect their safety — have experienced attacks first hand, witnessing airstrikes and bombings, sometimes with “no warning.”

One family said they are living in the ruins of their home, with walls demolished and all windows broken, as their home is regularly targeted by bullets, adding that they have narrowly avoided being hit by rockets while out looking for food.

Applicant W.J.A.J. was shot in the foot while out getting food and the bullet is still there. Another applicant, M.T.M.J., has reported seeing human remains lying in the rubble of her neighbourhood.

None of the school-age applicants have been in a classroom since the war broke out. The eight elderly members of the group do not have access to medical treatment. While five adults were able to flee to Egypt before the seizure of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing by the Israeli military in last May, they remain there without any valid immigration status.

For comparison, the court submissions referred to the 9,357 visas Ottawa issued within eight months for nationals of Turkey and Syria affected by the 2023 earthquakes in the region; the resettlement of more than 25,000 Syrian refugees in four months during Syria’s civil war; and some 71,000 visas granted under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program in 40 days in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mo, a Palestinian Canadian litigant, applied for the temporary resident visa for his widowed mother, five sisters and nephew. His father died of a heart attack shortly after the war started because he couldn’t access emergency care, he said in an interview.

Frustrated with the slow processing, the Toronto man flew to Egypt with $15,000 (U.S.) in cash last April and managed to get his mother and two sisters out through bribes.

Although one sister, a pharmacist, and his mother obtained visas and arrived in Canada, in August and October respectively, they did not have the “codes” and were not admitted under the special program, which would have meant a three-year stay and given direct access to health care or work permits. As a result, they have sought asylum in Canada.

“There wasn’t a system,” said Mo, who spent three months in Cairo and as a result lost his IT job in Canada. “We were just discovering (the process) as we go.”

He’s still unsure about the status of his application for the rest of the family.

Citing privacy concerns, the Immigration Department declined to comment on individual cases involved in the lawsuit, but said it’s deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza.

In an email to the Star, it said all people applying for the Gaza program must meet eligibility and admissibility requirements, including security screening, before they can be approved to come to Canada.

“We have received a large volume of web form submissions. We are currently reviewing them for completeness,” it said. “Processing times will vary based on the details of each application and available spaces.”

The Gazan families are asking for a court order to compel immigration officials to process their pending “crisis” web forms within five days in the event of a ruling in their favour.