Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, wearing a protective mask, attends a press conference as efforts continue to help curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on 5 March 2021. REUTERS / Blair Photo of Gable / File
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s special immigration initiative for Hong Kong residents received more than 500 applications in its first three weeks, a Canadian immigration ministry spokesman said Friday.
In November, the Canadian government said it would make it easier for Hong Kong youth to study and work in Canada in response to new security rules imposed by China on the former British colony.
“In the first three weeks of the program’s opening (February 8-28), the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) received 503 applications for work permits and 10 applications for extension of work permits, ”Press Secretary Alexander Cohen said in an emailed statement.
“Canada shares the international community’s grave concerns about China’s national security legislation and strongly supports the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” the statement added.
Canada said in February that Hong Kong graduates at Canadian universities could apply for a new three-year work permit category starting this month. Read more
China imposed a new national security law in late June 2020 on Hong Kong, aimed at everything that Beijing considers subversion, secession or terrorism.
When China imposed the general law, city residents moved tens of billions of dollars around the world to Canada, where thousands hoped to forge a new future. Read more
Capital flows from Hong Kong banks to Canada increased to the highest levels recorded last year, with about $ 43.6 billion ($ 34.777 billion) in electronic funds transfers (EFT) recorded by FINTRAC , the Canadian anti-money agency, which receives reports on transfers in excess of C $ 10,000.
The Hong Kong government has said the city has not seen any significant capital outflows since the anti-government unrest began in 2019.
Canada is a second home for many Hong Kong residents after their families moved to the Vancouver and Toronto areas before the British cession of their former colony to China in 1997. After obtaining Canadian citizenship , many returned to Hong Kong, which is now home to some 300,000 Canadians, one of the largest Canadian communities abroad.
Canadian visa applications from Hong Kong, excluding visitor visas, increased by 10% to 8,121 in 2020.
(1 $ = 1,2503 Canadian dollars)
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