Humanitarian, Refugees and Foreign Affairs

IN THE NEWS: National Oberserver - Ontario tribunal ruled DNA collection from migrant workers was a human rights abuse

While the decision is undoubtedly positive for migrant workers, it doesn’t address the underlying causes of the abuse migrant workers face, Jenny Kwan, NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, told Canada’s National Observer.

“What the NDP wants the government to do is provide all migrant workers with permanent resident status on arrival, so that when they land here in Canada, they have their rights and they're protected,” said Kwan.

IN THE NEWS: CBC - Afghan advisers who helped Canada’s military say gov’t has further delayed rescue of families from Taliban

‘Blood will be on Canadian government’s hands,’ says federal NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan.

"These advisers wore the Canadian uniform, essential to Canada's missions, yet in their greatest time of need when families are in grave danger, the Canadian government says get through normal immigration process," Kwan said.  Extended family members are not eligible for the family sponsorship immigration route. Kwan noted that the processing times for regular immigration streams are very long.

Kwan said Canada is being racist. "Canada is using differential treatment for people in Afghanistan more than that of Ukraine, even though both are under siege and at great risk," she said. "Why is that? Is it the colour of their skin? Is that the prevailing reason? This is outright discrimination."
Kwan said the department can easily issue temporary residence visas or "single travel journey documents" for those families to expeditiously arrive in Canada.
"The government has to do what is necessary and our legal and moral responsibility," she said. "Knowing that many lives are threatened and we are not doing everything to bring them here to safety, blood will be on the Canadian government's hands."

IN THE NEWS: The News Forum - MP Jenny Kwan on Ottawa's "Disgraceful" Treatment of Afghans Fleeing the Taliban

MP Jenny Kwan rebuting the Immigration Minister in this tv interview

IN THE NEWS: Global - Ex-B.C. journalist and democracy activist placed on Chinese ‘wanted’ list

In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, Vancouver-East MP Jenny Kwan and Edmonton-Strathcona MP Heather McPhereson said any application of the law to Ho was a violation of his rights protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Notwithstanding whatever his views are on how to address these issues (in Hong Kong), the critical issue is this: Here in Canada we have what we cherish very much, our charter rights,” Kwan told Global News in an interview, “our right to free speech, our right to free association, our rights to our beliefs and thoughts and the right for the freedom of the press.”

The Canadian government, she said, needs to be vocal about the rights of Ho and all other Canadians to free speech.

IN THE NEWS: Canadian Press - Thousand of Afghans who helped Canada trapped in Afghanistan, struggling to leave

The federal government needs to do more to help thousands of Afghans who assisted Canadian Forces but remain trapped in Afghanistan a year after the Taliban seized Kabul, aid groups and opposition parties say.
As the grim anniversary passed Monday, NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan warned at a news conference that Canada will have blood on its hands if it does not take immediate action to help Afghans whose lives are in danger because they helped Canadians.
She called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to intervene to sort out “chaos” at the Immigration Department, which she said has still not processed many applications to come to Canada.
“No more excuses,” Kwan said. “We do not want to lose lives because if we do the blood is on the Canadian government’s hands.”

IN THE NEWS: Vancouver Sun - Ex-Vancouver newspaper editor of Sing Tao on Hong Kong’s wanted list

“We find this gravely concerning. Mr. Ho is a Canadian citizen, living in Canada. This is an intrusion on Mr. Ho’s legal rights, and any application of the National Security Law is a direct attack on this fundamental freedom of thought, belief, opinion, expression and assembly as protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” wrote Heather McPherson, MP for Edmonton-Strathcona, and Jenny Kwan, MP for Vancouver-East.

IN THE NEWS: Canadian Press - Canada less than halfway to Afghan resettlement goal one year after Taliban takeover

A year after the Taliban seized control of Kabul, Canada’s resettlement efforts have lagged behind official targets and the efforts to help those fleeing the war in Ukraine.  More than 17,300 Afghans have arrived in Canada since last August compared to 71,800 Ukrainians who have come to Canada in 2022 alone, according to government statistics. The federal government has promised to resettle 40,000 Afghans.
Canadian activists and MPs accuse the Liberals of not doing enough to help people who worked with the Canadian Forces in the country, including as interpreters.
They say some families are in hiding from the Taliban as they await approval of their immigration applications, while others have been split up, with children and spouses of applicants left behind.
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan, who has been in contact with many Afghan refugees who worked with Canadian Forces, said there is a “stark difference” between the government’s treatment of those fleeing the Taliban and those fleeing the Russian invasion.  She said the situation for Afghans who helped Canada is “grave,” with many unable to escape the country and facing persecution by the Taliban.

IN THE NEWS: Indo Canadian Voice - NDP says it will keep fighting for urgently needed and life saving assistance for Afghans

Today marks the one-year anniversary since the devastating fall of Kabul and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, which launched the country into the worst humanitarian crisis in decades. While many families have fled Afghanistan and are seeking asylum, others were left behind in an evacuation that started too late and ended too early.
Kwan and McPherson pointed out: “The Special Immigration Measures for Afghans announced in 2021 are coming to an end, meaning that many people who assisted Canada on missions and their families may never make it to safety. Instead of expediting processing, the Liberal government made the application process confusing and full of bureaucratic red tape. The NDP exposed that at least 2,900 applications referred by the Department of National Defence are lost between departments. This is beyond unacceptable.
The Liberals have a duty of care to help people who worked for the Canadian government and their families – instead, they left them behind. Now those who worked for Canada as interpreters, security guards, as well as former women Afghan parliamentarians and their families are being persecuted by the Taliban. Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government are failing in their humanitarian and moral duties.

CPAC coverage of NDP MPs Parliament Hill news conferene to discuss humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

Jenny Kwan, the NDP critic for refugees and citizenship, and Heather McPherson, the party’s critic for foreign affairs and international development, mark the one-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and discuss what needs to be done to help families stranded in the country. Also participating in the virtual news conference are Wadood Dilsoz, director of the Afghan Community Vancouver Foundation, and Reyhana Patel, director of communications and government relations for Islamic Relief Canada.

IN THE NEWS: CBC - ‘Waiting for our death’: Afghan miliary lawyers beg Canada for help to escape

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan has said the government's claim that other immigration avenues remain open to Afghans is "deceptive.”

"That is just a rejection," she said.