Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Honourable senators, on December 16 this week, the long-awaited mandate letters were released. In the mandate letter of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Sean Fraser, this is stated:

With the support of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, continue to facilitate the safe passage and resettlement of vulnerable people from Afghanistan, with an emphasis on individuals who supported Canada and our allies over the past two decades, women, LGBTQ2 people, human rights defenders . . . .

The list goes on. It ends with the statement, “. . . increase the number of eligible refugees from 20,000 to at least 40,000.”

Senator Gold, there are many desperate people in Afghanistan. Some of them, though, specifically meet the criteria of this high priority group. One of them wrote to me more than three months ago. I shared her information with some senators as well as some very high-ranking people. We have all reached out because this particular woman — and I will use her name, Zora — meets all of the requirements. People working at her side in the non-governmental organization funded entirely by Canada are out. We have made numerous attempts — I count five so far. Documents have been lost. Automatic replies have been sent when more specific attention should have been paid. There have been documented death threats to Zora and her family. It goes on and on.

All I would ask of you, Senator Gold, is to please convey this to the minister, to the Prime Minister and to everyone to whom it’s now clear that we have made a commitment as a country? It has been confirmed in the mandate letter that we must increase the number to at least 40,000. Please, could we see an acceleration and a focus on those who meet our highest-risk definition, including women like Zora?