44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2023 10:00AM
- Feb/14/23 6:33:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am here tonight to re-address a question that I asked last week in the House on Afghans and Afghan interpreters, those Afghans who helped Canada during our mission there, and what the current Liberal government is doing to help them out.
In particular, I was asking on behalf of Abdullah, who has actually been here, about what they were doing to help his family, who were approved eight months or so ago to come to Canada, yet nothing has happened.
His brother is now feared missing and presumed dead. My question to the government then was as follows: How many more Afghans such as Abdullah's brother need to die before the government will take urgent action?
I want to emphasize why this is so important. I spent over a year of my life in Afghanistan. I have seen, first-hand, the horrific actions of the Taliban. I apologize, in advance, to anybody listening about some of the graphic details I am going to share, such as a father and son beheaded and hung because they helped the local Afghan police during my time there in 2007, and young girls with acid thrown in their face because they dared go to school.
We have seen now, since the Taliban has retaken the country, that it is not allowing women and girls to go to university and, just in the last couple of months, any school at all. It has taken away those rights. It is persecuting religious minorities, ethnic minorities, women, 2SLGBTQ+ groups and, in particular, it is targeting women members of parliament from the former Afghanistan government, former Afghan judges and those Afghans who chose to help us help them during our decade-plus in that country.
Why is this so important? If we are unwilling, as a nation, to help these Afghans, or those from any country we travel to and where we depend upon them to achieve our missions, whether it be military, whether it be diplomatic or whether it be Canadian NGOs working in those nations, and then we leave them behind when things go sideways, that speaks to who we are as a nation and what we think of those people we are supposedly trying to help.
I will predict what I am going to hear from the parliamentary secretary here shortly. She will talk about how they have accepted 27,000 Afghans here into Canada. My question is this: Out of the 27,000, how many of them were already outside of Afghanistan, already in relative safety? I am not saying that we should not be helping them out, those who were able to flee the country, but my primary concern is about those Afghans still in Afghanistan.
We are going to hear about the challenges, logistical and security challenges. I will continue to call BS on that. I talk on a daily basis, or a weekly basis, with former colleagues and NGOs that are moving Afghans and Ukrainians out of these respective countries, out of war zones, and they can get it done very, very quickly.
I will close with two simple questions. How many more Afghans need to die before the government takes action? When can Parliament expect an update from the government on the 37 recommendations, and the progress that the Liberal government has made them, that came out of the Special Committee on Afghanistan?
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- Feb/14/23 6:37:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his passion and service. He is very engaged and, as I understand, has a very personal commitment to vulnerable Afghans. We do not always align in our ideology, but I think it is important for Canadians everywhere to see that when it comes to unwavering support for Afghanistan, we are on the same side.
Canada's commitment to Afghanistan represents one of the most difficult and the largest resettlement initiatives in Canadian history. We are steadfast in our promise to support those who served alongside Canada during the military operation in Afghanistan, as well as those who were working with our diplomatic missions. I am proud that Canada has one of the largest Afghan resettlement programs in the world and was among the first countries in the world to launch a special humanitarian resettlement program for vulnerable Afghans, including women leaders, human rights defenders, persecuted and religious minorities, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals and journalists.
I can confidently tell this House that we are exploring all avenues to support their safe passage and are maximizing every opportunity to help Afghans leave Afghanistan and travel onward to Canada. A key challenge is that many Afghans who are still in need of protection remain in Afghanistan, and movement out of the country by air or land continues to be very difficult and dangerous. As all members here well know, the Government of Canada has no military or diplomatic presence in Afghanistan.
Afghans seeking to leave Afghanistan face multiple challenges, including the Taliban exit requirements, notably a passport. They must also navigate third country entry and exit requirements.
We are doing everything we can to help vulnerable Afghans get to safety as quickly as possible. IRCC has added more employees and resources in our mission abroad, including in Islamabad. IRCC has also mobilized its global network, and applications continue to be processed day and night on a priority basis through our integrated network of visa officers across the globe. Furthermore, IRCC has adopted a facilitative approach to expedite certain processes given the unique circumstances in Afghanistan.
We are working with a wide range of partners, including regional and like-minded governments, NGOs and referral organizations, to secure safe passage for Afghans who are eligible for one of Canada's immigration programs. With the help of these trusted partners, we are enabling the movement of Afghans in neighbouring countries, where we have bolstered biometrics collection and medical and security screening capacity.
I just want to point out that we have had 22 flights from Pakistan and 16 from Tajikistan so far. As the member alluded to, even with all of these difficulties, more than 28,000 Afghans can now call Canada home. We are proud of what we have accomplished, but we also know that there is more to do.
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- Feb/14/23 6:41:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary did not address my questions.
My first question was, when can we expect the Afghans still stuck in Afghanistan to get here? There were lots of excuses and lots of reasons why there are challenges. Again, I talked to the people on the ground directly involved with moving these Afghans. It is the bureaucracy. It is the lack of paperwork. We can move people within days if we just get the bureaucracy and paperwork resolved.
I will go back to the other question I asked. I am looking for an update on when this House of Commons can expect a progress report on the 37 recommendations made by the Special Committee on Afghanistan to the government.
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- Feb/14/23 6:42:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, again I want to thank the hon. member for his service to Canada. I represent the community of Orléans, where we have a lot of active military members and veterans. It is always extraordinary for me to be a part of that.
As I have said on a few occasions, if it was a matter of will, there would be 40,000 Afghans here in Canada. The current situation in Afghanistan is complex, and the challenges are extraordinary. We are constantly navigating an evolving situation with the government, and we have no military or diplomatic presence on the ground.
We continue to explore all avenues to support the safe movement of Canada-bound Afghans out of Afghanistan to a third country and to maximize every opportunity to help them travel. I want to be clear. This effort is ongoing, and we are using all options at our disposal.
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