"Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary knows as well as I do that the reality is that the Department of National Defence had referred 3,800 applications to IRCC and only 900 of them have been confirmed. The rest of the 2,900 applications files are lost somewhere in the system. The same applies to the GAC referrals. IRCC cannot seem to find these files. As much as the parliamentary secretary and the government would like to say they are doing a great job, I am sorry to say they are not. Too many people have been left behind. They cannot even find their files. How is that even possible?
I would say to the Liberals that, if they think they are doing a good job, they had better look harder. They need to find those files and bring those family members here to Canada. We need to honour them. We need to make sure that they get to safety."
Marie-France Lalonde (Liberal) Orléans, ON
"Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we are one of the only countries in the world to have implemented a humanitarian stream to welcome even more Afghan refugees based on their particular vulnerability, including women leaders, LGBTQ2 people, human rights defenders, journalists and members of religious and ethnic minorities.
With our standard refugee program, the humanitarian stream works through a referral system and individuals do not apply directly. Individuals are referred by designated partners trained and experienced at assessing vulnerability and operating a situation of mass displacement and humanitarian hardship.
Referral partners, including the United Nations Refugee Agency's frontline defenders protect defenders and Canadian private sponsors. In light of the current situation in Afghanistan, we will waive the requirement for a refugee status determination to some private sponsorship applications, broadening sponsors' access to the program.
In addition to all these pathways, we are going to work with partners to utilize the economic mobility pathways pilot, an innovative program designed to help skilled refugees resettle in Canada to welcome even more Afghan refugees. We are committed to resettle at least—"
