• Canada is taking action to provide relief to Turkey and Syrian refugees.
• More than 500,000 lives were lost in the quake.
• UN urged the nations to speed up refugees’ relocation process.

A month after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people, Canada took action on Saturday to make immigration easier for those who are already residents of the nation.

More than 45,000 people were killed by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 in Turkey, and thousands more in neighboring Syria. Hundreds of thousands of houses were also severely damaged.

“Canada is committed to providing relief to those impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria,” said Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

The new regulations would, for instance, enable citizens of those nations to apply for work permits that allow foreigners to work for any employer for a predetermined amount of time.

“Today we are introducing new measures that make it easier for Turkish and Syrian nationals to extend their stay in Canada and be with their families, while continuing to work and study in a safe environment,” Fraser added.

The announcement comes ten days after the UN encouraged nations to expedite the relocation of Syrian refugees from Turkey’s earthquake-affected regions.

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