Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Senator Gold, we’ve all read that the Government of Pakistan is forcing millions of Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan. This is not just shocking; it’s against international law and puts many lives at risk.

I know there are Afghans who have been accepted into Canada as refugees but haven’t been able to leave Pakistan. Many of them are Hazara minorities. They are now being forced back to Pakistan, which puts them obviously at further risk of persecution by the Taliban.

What is our government doing to ensure these refugees are allowed to exit Pakistan and come to Canada?

Senator Omidvar: I’m encouraged by your statement that the Government of Canada is in dialogue with the Government of Pakistan. The forced return of refugees, also known as refoulement is against international human rights, humanitarian and customary law.

In the conversations with the Government of Pakistan, what is Canada doing to push countries — not just Pakistan but others as well, I imagine — to meet international legal obligations, including the principle of non-refoulement and to stop the crackdown against Afghan refugees?

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, my question is for Senator Gold, the representative of the government in the Senate.

Senator Gold, I, too, will stick with Afghanistan. My question is about the many Afghan human rights defenders, interpreters, former colleagues of the Government of Canada, Canada’s Armed Forces and Canadian civil society organizations and others who meet all the explicit and stated criteria for resettlement in Canada. However, their files appear to be stuck in bureaucratic logjams. I have to conclude that this happens because there are three different ministries, often with different mandates, protocols and priorities. They are Global Affairs Canada, Public Safety Canada and IRCC.

Senator Gold, can you tell us if the government has or is planning to initiate a high-level cabinet committee comprised of the three ministers of these departments? Only they can break these logjams, not the bureaucrats. Such a proposal has been made in a non-partisan manner by three leaders we all know from different corners of the political spectrum. They are Peter MacKay, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Ed Broadbent, the former leader of the NDP; and Allan Rock, former Attorney General of Canada.

Is the government planning to act on this sage and sound advice from the voices of experience?

Senator Omidvar: Senator Gold, yesterday we heard from Senator Simons about private sponsors being ready, willing, able, on standby and waiting for refugees to arrive. The issue is the caps on privately sponsored refugees that are put on by the government. In the last Syrian refugee crisis, the government lifted that cap.

Will the government also allow these caps to be lifted this time around? People are on standby and refugees are in need of help. It seems to be a simple, magical solution. Over to you, Senator Gold.

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.

Senator Gold, I have been persistent in my questions to you about the Afghanistan file, and I have been persistently critical of the government’s handling of the situation. But I’m a fair person, and fair is fair. I was delighted to learn about the chartered flight last week and the arrival of 250 Afghan refugees. Of course, I was doubly delighted to learn that they would be resettled in Canada with the help of private sponsors.

Behind the headlines, I can see that many public servants likely worked around the clock night and day to make this happen. My commendations to them, the government and our public servants.

So you can expect what my question is: When can we expect the next flight to arrive?

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: My question is for Senator Gold, the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

My question, Senator Gold is about Afghanistan and our obligations to those who are in danger because they worked alongside Canadian Forces, Canadian NGOs, journalists and activists. Now they are in danger and Canadians believe it is our moral imperative to bring them to safety.

However, the government’s good intentions — and I want to grant that the government does have good intentions — must be followed through with execution and implementation. By all accounts, we are failing significantly on that front.

Why is the government not taking a leaf out of the Syrian refugee playbook? If there is a key lesson to take forward from our response from that time, it is this: A deadline serves all parts of the system, political and bureaucratic, to get to the finish line.

When will the government outline a detailed plan, with timelines, to bring Afghan refugees to Canada?

Senator Omidvar: Senator Gold, I draw your attention to the safe houses in Kabul that are being operated by former members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Our veterans have stepped up to the plate and are raising money so that Afghan interpreters and their families can be safe while efforts are being made for their evacuation. Their money has run out and these safe houses are being closed.

Can you tell us whether the Canadian government is going to fund these safe houses to support the safety of Afghan interpreters, and their families, who worked alongside our troops?