(Ottawa) Liberal government abandons Taliban-ruled Afghans to their fate, denounces opposition, which blames Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser for failing to set a deadline for the reception of the 40,000 refugees promised by the Trudeau government.
Canada has only received about 4,000 refugees since the fall of Kabul in mid-August. Even if you add up the approximately 1,700 people who have been approved and who are waiting in a third country – most of them in Pakistan – and the nearly 9,300 Afghans still in their country who have been given the green light, we are far from the mark.
The conservative opposition took to the front lines during Question Period in the House to criticize this slowness in rescuing vulnerable people – women leaders, religious and ethnic minorities, human rights defenders – as well as the hundreds of interpreters who served alongside the Canadian Forces during the mission in Afghanistan.
“When is the government going to take its responsibility seriously and evacuate these people who are in danger? », Rebelled MP Jasraj Singh Hallan, then accusing Minister Fraser of imputing to the actors on the ground the responsibility for the delays in the execution of the plan.
The main interested party not being present, it was his predecessor, Marco Mendicino, who rose to react to the conservative grievances. He assured that the promise to open the doors of Canada to 40,000 Afghan refugees still stood, despite the “very difficult” situation in Kabul.
During the last election campaign, the Liberals revised upwards their initial target for receiving refugees from Afghanistan, from 20,000 to 40,000 in their platform. No precise timetable has been set, unlike what was done in 2015 in the case of Syrian refugees. At most, money has been provided for the program ($ 350 million) until 2022-2023 in the document.
In interview with Press, last week, Minister Sean Fraser pleaded that because of the challenges on the ground, he did not want to dangle an “artificial” date to those wishing to travel to Canada and to their loved ones.
Humanitarian aid, but not to the government
In the meantime, Canada continues to send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, where conditions are deteriorating.
Several organizations, including the United Nations, are warning that a serious humanitarian crisis is imminent, when a vast majority of the population does not have enough to eat, and winter is approaching.
No cent is paid directly to the Taliban regime, Global Affairs Canada was told.
“Canada does not provide humanitarian assistance funding to the Government of Afghanistan. Funding for humanitarian aid is allocated directly to experienced partners such as the UN, the Red Cross and specialized NGOs with the operational capacity to respond to these needs, ”a spokesperson for the ministry said in an email. , Geneviève Tremblay.
In early 2021, when the withdrawal of American troops was announced, Ottawa contributed $ 27.3 million. To this is added another $ 50 million, announced last August, for Afghanistan and neighboring countries, added the spokesperson.