QUESTION PERIOD — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Afghan Refugees
February 8, 2022
Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.
Senator Gold, Jawed Ahmad Haqmal, an Afghan interpreter saved the lives of Canadian soldiers during the war by intercepting a radio transmission while pretending to be a Taliban commander and effectively neutralizing a planned ambush. He was a marked man from that day onwards, he told me.
Today, Haqmal, along with his pregnant wife, four children and seven relatives have been stuck in Kiev for the past five months after fleeing Kabul. They have an expired Ukrainian humanitarian visa, no money, and no one in the family has a winter coat. They face the growing threat of a Russian invasion. Despite having been told by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada that his claim has been accepted, he remains trapped in Ukraine.
Senator Gold, I have spoken with Jawed and only got a glimpse of his desperate situation. How is the government planning to help Jawed Ahmad Haqmal and his family in Ukraine?
The Government of Canada is grateful for the assistance that people such as the gentleman you mentioned have provided to Canada and is working seriously with its consular offices to find solutions to the many who find themselves in difficult situations. I’m not in a position to comment on specific cases, so I cannot answer your question. I will certainly make inquiries and, where appropriate, report back to the chamber.
Senator Gold, our government has ordered Canadians to leave Ukraine because of security and safety reasons. Additionally, Canada has issued a travel advisory over heightened concerns of a Russian invasion.
Senator Gold, I have learned that Jawed has been contacting friends and family in the hopes of getting money to feed his family. In fact, a reporter at The Globe and Mail has been sending funds for the past five months to pay for his groceries.
Jawed Ahmad Haqmal saved Canadian military lives and has already gone through the gruelling process of escaping the Taliban. Why has the IRCC not prioritized his case?
Thank you again for your question and for your commitment to seeing progress made in this case. I will make inquiries with regard to the IRCC process. I’m just not in a position to provide the information you have requested.
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?
Thank you for your question, senator. Indeed, the three former parliamentarians you mentioned are experienced, and government would look with interest at their input and advice.
I will make inquiries as to the status of that issue within the government and will be pleased to report back.
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Before Christmas, you will recall that I talked about the importance of the work involved in getting Afghans out of Afghanistan. At this moment, I would like to talk about the ones who have arrived in Canada.
Canada was committed to bringing in 40,000 Afghan refugees who are escaping persecution at the hands of the Taliban. Of the 7,200 people that Canada has admitted so far, many are stuck in limbo and, in fact, are languishing in hotel rooms around the country. I have spoken with some refugees who have been offered asylum and have arrived, but they are still awaiting their permanent resident cards. In fact, I have sat down and tried to complete this daunting paper work online with them.
As you no doubt appreciate, without this document they cannot work, access education for themselves or their children, obtain health care or start a new life. Some of them are incredible and have gotten jobs but cannot go to work. They are highly motivated professionals who, in spite of trauma, are desperate to carry on their lives and start their families. Volunteers, it seems, are carrying a great load in this work.
What is the government doing to expedite this process in Canada for those who have made the harrowing journey to our country so they can make a new life and begin truly contributing to our rich and diverse way of life here in Canada?
Thank you for your question. The government is working hard to ensure the proper treatment of all of the applications to which you refer. It is also working very hard to make sure that the living conditions of those who are awaiting the resolution of their applications, the completion of the process, are well taken care of.
It is working with a network of highly trained resettlement assistance program service providers to accommodate as many as possible, and is in constant contact with those service providers to ensure they are meeting the needs of those for whom they are responsible. There are daily reports on the situation in hotels. The government is gathering, through these service providers, input and feedback from those who benefit from the various assistance programs offered to them.
In January, some Western countries were in talks with the Taliban directly in Oslo. I’m wondering today what the Government of Canada is planning to do, if it is planning to do the same as this group or where they fit in this very important conversation.
The Government of Canada, in particular through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is in regular contact with its allies and is keeping a close eye on the situation in Afghanistan and making sure it is doing its part to assist in this humanitarian crisis.
