Hundreds of leaders from Canada's technology industry are calling on Ottawa to offer immediate visas to those impacted by Donald Trump's hastily implemented travel ban.
Days after Trump signed an executive order suddenly barring travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, members of Canada's tech community released an open letter lauding the benefits of immigration and diversity.
"Talent and skill know no borders. In choosing to hire, train, and mentor the best people in the world, we can build global companies that grow our economy. By embracing diversity, we can drive innovation to benefit the world," it reads.
"Many Canadian tech entrepreneurs are immigrants, are the children of immigrants, employ and have been employed by immigrants."
The signatories, who include David Tedman and Ryan Holmes, co-founders of Vancouver-based Hootsuite, asked the federal government to launch a targeted program providing temporary residency to the people displaced by Trump's ban.
Participants should be allowed to live and work in Canada until they are able to complete an application for permanent status, according to their letter.
"Diversity is our strength. We, as Canadians, recognize our privilege as a prosperous nation. We believe providing refuge to people seeking safety should remain our compass," it reads.
The call-to-action, which was published online Sunday, had been signed more than 2,200 times by Monday evening.
Signatories include Canadian employees, founders and executives from Shopify, Kijiji, WealthSimple, Microsoft, PayPal, Twitter, Google and more.
They weren't the only ones to speak out against Trump's order; the University of British Columbia set up a $250,000 task force to determine what support it can offer the people impacted by the ban.
Dozens of protesters also gathered outside the U.S. consulate in downtown Vancouver Monday to voice their opposition to Trump's controversial – and potentially illegal – policy, joining a chorus of condemnation coming from around the world.
Trump’s order bars citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from the U.S. for a period of 90 days, halts entry for refugees for 120 days, and prohibits Syrian refugees indefinitely. It caused chaos at some of the nation’s airports over the weekend, where protests broke out over the detention of arriving travellers, including some legal permanent residents who carry foreign passports.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Mi-Jung Lee and files from The Canadian Press
