Afghanistan

Canada’s response to the humanitarian crisis faced by Afghan people, particularly for those who find themselves in danger of retaliation by the Taliban for serving Canada’s missions in Afghanistan, or who were part of a network funded by Canada that worked to advance the rights of women in Afghanistan, has left far too many people behind.

New Democrats have for years been urgently calling on the Government of Canada to lift the 40,000 cap for the Special Immigration Measure for Afghans so that those who risked their lives and that of their family members, including extended family members, to serve Canada are afforded the opportunity to get to safety in Canada that the Liberal government promised following the fall of Kabul and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

Without knowing how many Afghans served Canada, the government set an arbitrary cap of 40,000 in its Special Immigration Measure (SIM) to help bring them and their extended family members to safety. Department officials have indicated that there are no more spots available, and it will not issue any new invitations to those left behind, including those known to Canada, and who have been vetted by DND and GAC.

The fact remains that Canada has made promises to the Afghan people that remain unfulfilled, abandoning the Afghan people who put their lives and that of their family members in jeopardy to help Canada complete its missions. This is simply unconscionable. These people should be treated as part of the Canadian military family and their situation remains dire.

The Canadian government must lift the cap and accelerate the processing times with increased resources and a sense of urgency that is commensurate with the situation to expeditiously bring these Afghans and their extended family members to safety.

CBC: Refugee group partners with Ottawa to bring hundreds of LGBTQ Afghans to Canada

"Rainbow Railroad has a fantastic track record in helping to resettle members from the [LGBTQ] community across the globe," said British Columbia MP Jenny Kwan, the NDP's immigration critic.
While she applauds the partnership with Rainbow Railroad, she said the federal government must expedite the resettlement process for " individuals who are being persecuted [and] whose lives are at risk.”

Kwan said wait times for processing refugee claims can take up to three or four years — the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada's website states the projected wait time is approximately 24 months — and vulnerable people such as LGBTQ Afghans don't have that much time to wait.

Global News VIDEO: Thousands of Afghans who helped Canada still stuck under Taliban rule

Canadian Press: Unblocking Afghanistan aid could come in spring, minister says amid calls for urgency

The NDP says Ottawa has to boost its own spending to make up for the time it has spent holding back humanitarian groups from responding.

“This Liberal promise will not come in time to help Afghans face the brutal winter,” reads a joint statement by MPs Heather McPherson and Jenny Kwan.
“Afghanistan is in acute humanitarian crisis, with soaring food prices, insecurity and lack of access to basic services likely to cause widespread suffering and many deaths.”

CIMM#45: Jenny asked the Immigration Minister on Hong Kong lifeboat scheme, migrant workers treatment, systematic racism in IRCC, processing delay, and Afghan refugee applications

“ My first question for the minister relates to the Hong Kong lifeboat scheme. Approximately 12,000 individuals have come to Canada and applied under that scheme, and 6,487 people were approved as of October 2021. Only 45 had permanent resident status approved by January 2022. According to research from Community Family Services of Ontario, 22% of the open work permit applicants graduated in 2016 or 2017, making them ineligible for PR under the scheme. By the time they complete their PR requirements, the degree, the limitation of five years will be over.

As the minister can see, there remain substantial barriers for Hong Kongers to access the open work permit scheme. It's set to expire on February 7, 2023. No replacement has yet been announced.

My question for the minister is this: Will he eliminate the five-year rule to make the lifeboat scheme actually workable for Hong Kongers? Second, will he extend the program?”

Indo Canadian Voice: Liberals fail to fix major problems in Canada’s immigration system: Federal NDP

Kwan noted: “Decades of Liberal and Conservative governments expanded Canada’s reliance on temporary foreign workers—without ensuring protections to their health and safety. For many years, these workers have been subjected to exploitation by employers who use their temporary status to drive down wages. The Liberals’ plan fails to ensure that these workers get the protections they need by not giving them permanent status, as the NDP has been calling for.”

HANSARD - With Pakistan cracking down on Afghans, what action is the government taking to ensure Afghans who served Canada are not thrown into prison or sent back to the Taliban?

CTV News: Prominent Afghan women's rights activist denied refugee admission into Canada, upsetting sponsors

In one of the latest disappointments in Canada’s efforts to aid Afghan refugees, a prominent Afghan women’s activist has had her temporary resident permit application denied, seemingly because of a bureaucratic mistake.
Bessa Whitmore and Sharen Craig have been working for seven months to bring Farzana Adell Ghadiya to the safety of Ottawa.
As sponsors, they had agreed to open their home to Ghadiya and provide her safety once she was able to make it to Canada.
For more than a decade, Ghadiya has fought for women's rights in Afghanistan, starting schools and working with the United Nations. She's also Hazara, an ethnic minority targeted by the Taliban.
Jenny Kwan, NDP MP for East Vancouver, told CTV National News that many “feel that this practice is discriminatory.”
“The reality is this: the government is not offering the same or similar immigration measures for Afghans and they are being left behind.”

OPEN LETTER to Immigration Minister for his rejection of Afghan women’s rights defender Farzana Adell’s protection application

Farzana’s life is in danger and time is running out. Her visa will expire at the end of the year in the country where she is residing. Unable to work or access the healthcare she requires to treat diabetes, she is currently depending on supporters to send her money to afford basic life necessities.
As a dedicated women’s rights defender Farzana has spent her life advancing women’s equality. She has helped to build schools for girls and maternity hospitals, she co-founded Gender Equality Rights Organization Afghanistan, and worked as chief of staff for the UN Commission on the Status of Women in the office of former Afghan president Asraf Ghani. It is this dedication to advancing women’s equality that puts her life in such danger due to Taliban retribution. Indeed, the Taliban have a decade-long history of harassing and beating Farzana to within an inch of her life.

HANSARD: Jenny asked would the government lift the arbitrary cap for Afghans and immediately expedite their processing?

CIMM#34: Jenny’s motion for the committee to study the government’s response to the final report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan and to invite various officials to provide an update

The motion reads as follows:
That the committee study the government’s response to the final report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan entitled “Honouring Canada’s Legacy in Afghanistan: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis and Helping People Reach Safety”, following the tabling of the report; that the committee invite the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Minister of National Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and their officials, with two hours allocated for each department, to provide an update on which of the 37 recommendations related to their portfolio they have acted on and/or its progress and which they will not implement with an explanation; and that the committee report its findings to the House.