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OTTAWA—Canada will fasttrack the immigration of Filipinos "directly and significantly" affected by tropical storm Ondoy (international codename: Ketsana) seeking to relocate here, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced Thursday.
"Effective immediately immigration officials will begin expediting applications from individuals directly and significantly affected by the typhoon," Kenney said.
The measures include "priority processing" of claims to reunite individuals with their families already living in Canada as well as temporary resident applications, he said.
Ondoy has brought devastation across Southeast Asia since killing 277 people in the Philippines last weekend.
Some 330,000 Canadians trace their roots to the Philippines, representing Canada's third largest ethnic minority, according to a 2001 census.
