Ottawa reserving commercial airline seats to get Canadians out of Lebanon
Evacuees are responsible for covering the cost of the ticket, government says
The federal government has started booking blocks of seats on commercial flights to help Canadians get out of Lebanon.
"Canada has secured seats for Canadians on the limited commercial flights available. If a seat is available, please take it," Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly posted to X, formerly Twitter.
"Canadians need to leave now."
Officials from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) told Radio-Canada the government took this step because commercial flights out of the country are becoming scarce as Israel's military action against what it calls Hezbollah targets in Lebanon continues.
Since October of last year, the government has been advising Canadians in Lebanon to leave while commercial options are still available. Those advisories ramped up over the summer as tensions in the Middle East escalated.
The government says Canadians are responsible for paying the cost of the ticket. In her post, Joly said there is a government program to assist those who can't afford it.
"Please ensure you are registered with our embassy in Beirut and indicate you want help leaving," Joly said.
"If you need financial assistance, loans are available."
Appearing on CBC's Power & Politics Friday night, Joly told host David Cochrane the best way to leave Lebanon is through the Beirut airport.
"Canadians just have to register through GAC online," Joly said. "We've been able to secure priority for Canadians on these flights."
Joly said if an evacuation becomes necessary, Canada has agreements with Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey.
"I've been in contact with all these foreign ministers to make sure these countries are still on board," she said.
"Also we're working with key governments, the Australians, the Americans and also the French governments, to make sure we adapt our evacuation plans together. Because what we learned from the evacuation in 2006 is we can't compete for spaces at the port."
Canada deploys another 150 troops to the region
In an interview with CBC's The House, Defence Minister Bill Blair said the flights will "get people to safety" and mentioned Cyprus as an possible destination.
"That doesn't mean repatriation all the way back to Canada," Blair told host Catherine Cullen.
"We will get them to safety. That's our responsibility. As far as where they go from there and what they do when they get to that place of safety, that remains their responsibility."
Blair said the government is prepared to evacuate up to 20,000 people — the number of people who are registered with GAC. There are an estimated 40,000 Canadian passport holders in the region, he said.
On Thursday, he ordered another 150 soldiers to the region.
"It's simply precautionary at this point. We are concerned about the escalating situation in Lebanon and monitoring it very carefully," Blair said.
"There are some circumstances where evacuation may not be be be possible."
Blair also said the government is prepared for the possibility of a marine evacuation, although such a measure could prove challenging after the Port of Beirut explosion in 2020.
"The situation is complicated and we know that there are less available port resources in in Beirut. We are looking at other options, particularly in the northern part of the region," Blair said.
"We are prepared to do whatever can be done to assist Canadians in the region. There are a lot of them there."
On Friday, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) also announced it issued a temporary halt on removals to Lebanon.
Removals include departure orders — which direct individuals to leave Canada within 30 days — exclusion orders preventing them from returning to Canada for a year, and deportation orders banning them from returning to Canada.
The agency said the temporary halt does not apply to anyone who is "inadmissible to Canada on the grounds of criminality, serious criminality, international or human rights violations, organized crime, or security."
CBSA said the temporary halt will be lifted once the situation in Lebanon stabilizes.
With files from Radio-Canada's Louis Blouin