OTTAWA -
NDP caucus chair Jenny Kwan says she is in search of pressing solutions about what has occurred to the purposes of two,900 Afghans who helped the Canadian navy.
Kwan is demanding Immigration Minister Sean Fraser clarify why the Afghans, whose credentials had been checked and verified by Canada's navy, haven't had their purposes to return to Canada accepted.
Defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre informed a parliamentary committee Monday evening that the Defence Division had checked and verified the credentials of three,800 Afghans, together with interpreters, who supported the Canadian navy.
However the committee heard from Eyre and Invoice Matthews, deputy defence minister, that solely 900 of them have had their purposes to return to Canada accepted to this point by the Immigration Division.
The federal government has dedicated to bringing 18,000 Afghans and their households to Canada who served as interpreters for the Canadian Armed Forces, or labored on the Embassy of Canada, or had another enduring or important ties with Canada.
Kwan stated she is planning to pursue the matter vigorously with the division because the lives of Afghans who helped Canadian troops are at risk from the Taliban.
She additionally plans to ask if the Immigration Division has misplaced recordsdata of Afghan interpreters who wish to come to Canada, saying the federal government has "betrayed them."
"With each single passing day, the dangers are heightened for Afghans," Kwan stated. "And for many who served this nation and their family members, it's mistaken that the federal government has left them behind."
A spokesperson from the minister's workplace stated the division plans to increase extra invites to Afghans who've a confirmed relationship with Canada within the coming weeks.
After World Affairs Canada and the Division of Nationwide Defence affirm an Afghan's ties to Canada, their title is handed on to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, press secretary Aidan Strickland stated in a press release Tuesday.
IRCC then sends an electronic mail to the individuals on that checklist inviting them to use, she stated. Solely individuals who obtain an invite are capable of apply for the particular program.
"We've already acquired purposes for greater than 14,905 Afghan refugees underneath the Particular immigration program for Afghans who assisted the Authorities of Canada and accepted over 10,000 purposes. IRCC continues to course of purposes as shortly as doable," Strickland stated.
Greater than 6,200 Afghans have arrived by way of the particular program, she stated.
Kwan stated the Taliban is looking down interpreters and their households, and he or she needs Canada to difficulty a one-time journey doc so susceptible Afghans shouldn't have to boost their heads to use for passports.
It's harmful for Afghans who helped Canadian Forces to use to the Taliban authorities for passports, Kwan stated.
"If you find yourself being hunted down and you are attempting to cover from the Taliban, you may't simply stroll into the workplace run by the Taliban and say, 'Are you able to difficulty journey paperwork, difficulty passports for my complete household?"' she stated.
"The minute you do this, you might be placing a pink flag proper on high of your head to be focused."
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Could 10, 2022
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