Thousands of Canadians stranded in India and Pakistan could be headed home soon

Some of the estimated 21,000 Canadians stranded in India as a result of heavy quarantine restrictions enacted in the country for COVID-19 will finally be able to return home soon.

The federal government has announced special flights are scheduled to leave New Delhi and Mumbai for an undisclosed location in Canada.

Some of the 21,000 Canadians stranded in India due to COVID-19 quarantine restrictions can head home soon.

“We have facilitated a series of commercial flights from Delhi and Mumbai for Canadian travellers stranded in India to return home,” stated Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Twitter Monday.

MPP Iqra Khalid (Mississauga—Erin Mills) also tweeted to her nearly 15,000 followers that those stranded in Pakistan and India who have registered with the government through the Registration of Canadians Abroad (ROCA) program would be receiving emails about next steps.

A copy of the email sent to ROCA registrants and obtained by The Pointer indicates the first of a “series of limited flights” will depart from New Delhi on Friday night.

“Seats on these flights will be made available for purchase by Canadian citizens or immediate family members of Canadian citizens who are Permanent Residents of Canada and who hold a valid Permanent Resident Card, and are accompanying the Canadian citizen on the flight,” the email sent from Consulate Services for the High Commission of Canada in India reads. 

A flyover view of the deserted All India Institute Of Medical Science in New Delhi amidst the Janata Curfew, introduced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The email adds that recipients of the message will receive further information on purchasing tickets for the flights, and that “domestic transport options” are under consideration for individuals who are not within driving distance of New Delhi or Mumbai.

The email also reminds anyone booked for the flights that upon arrival in Canada they will have to self-quarantine for the next 14 days in line with Quarantine Act measures to contain the domestic spread of COVID-19.

A similar announcement was made for Canadians stranded in Pakistan, indicating repatriation flights will leave Karachi and Lahore for Toronto starting April 2 on a first come, first served basis.

In a series of tweets posted Monday, Canada’s High Commission in Pakistan urged ROCA registrants to book a seat quickly and stated flights from Islamabad back to Canada are also being explored with further information expected in the coming days.

On April 2, repatriation flights will leave Karachi (pictured above) and Lahore for Toronto on a first come, first served basis.

Many of those stranded are of South Asian descent and reside in Peel Region. According to data from the 2016 census, an estimated 260,000 Brampton residents and 165,000 Mississauga residents identify as South Asian-Canadian.

Thousands of expats who now live in Canada as citizens or permanent residents travel to India for long stretches during the colder months, many of whom had been in the country long before the lockdown was announced suddenly last week by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who apologized Sunday for the mismanagement and widespread chaos the move has caused.

Mississauga resident Ri Sihota has three close family members, including her father, stranded in Jalandhar, Punjab. She said she was reassured by the travel announcement and was looking forward to hearing more about the arrangement of special flights.

“This is the best news to come out! I am ecstatic,” said Sihota in an email to The Pointer Monday. “I think they will be home very soon.”

Sihota created an online petition that’s been endorsed by more than 14,000 people, demanding the Canadian government take action to help repatriate her family and others stranded in India.

During an interview last week, Sihota was frustrated with the lack of response from Ottawa after the Indian lockdown left thousands of Canadians stuck, with no commercial flights allowed in or out. Sihota was upset that other countries, after the lockdown order, such as Germany and Israel, had been able to organize special flights to get their citizens home.

Sihota said she reached out to local MPs in an effort to bring attention to her cause, but had received no concrete assurances about a timeline for getting her family home. She is worried her family members, including three grandparents who are in various states of health, will not receive adequate healthcare, as COVID-19 spreads by the hour.

India has been described as a potential hotspot for infection, with a potential case count feared to be in the hundreds of millions if quarantine measures are not successful. India’s healthcare authority has largely failed in its efforts to halt the pandemic, according to many healthcare experts and epidemiologists who fear the country’s efforts to contain COVID-19 have been woefully inadequate. As of March 13, India had only tested three people per million for the virus, in stark contrast to South Korea, where more than 4,800 people per million had been tested by the same date, an effort that has dramatically reduced the spread in that country.

A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada made no guarantees last week the government could help all of the at least 21,000 Canadians stranded in India, warning it would not be possible to ensure all of them would receive assistance to return home. 

The Pointer reached out to Global Affairs Canada to find out how many flights are planned and where they would arrive, but did not receive a response ahead of publication.

It’s also unclear how many Canadians will be able to secure travel on the special flights and how they will be selected. There are concerns among many family members here whose loved ones have health issues and need to return as soon as possible.

Balli Bolla, also from Mississauga, had exhorted Peel politicians to help get her parents back from Punjab. She tried to book return flights for them on various airlines, but had to watch helplessly as all the bookings were subsequently cancelled.

Bolla is not aware if her parents, who are elderly, have received an email about a flight home. She is very concerned for their health, particularly her father, noting he is close to running out of his diabetes and blood thinning medications. Her mother, Bolla estimates, has enough medication for her high blood pressure condition to last another two weeks.

“[My parents] are ok but my dad is running out of meds,” said Bolla through Facebook. “I went to Canada Post today [to mail the medication] and they can’t ship them out.”

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