We live in an interconnected world, and events transpiring worldwide ultimately affects Canadians, whether we are speaking about economic trade, global prices of goods and commodities, knowledge and skills exchange, effects of climate change, disease transmission and control, natural disaster management, and others. Fulfilling our international obligations protects and serves the interests of Canadians.
People fleeing war, persecution or natural disasters face tremendous barriers to obtaining necessary travel documents. For this reason, I have been advocating for visa-free travel for urgent, life-and-death situations such as the war in Ukraine. I have also been advocating for the government to rescind the safe third country agreement because often, refugees cannot get to safety without first going to a third country. It is paramount that Canada has an adequately resourced immigration system that can act with flexibility and expediency in times of crisis without compromising national security standards.
As your Member of Parliament, I will fight to ensure Canada fulfills its humanitarian and environmental obligations as a member of the international community.
Asked by The Globe on Parliament Hill Thursday to clarify what he said, Mr. Sajjan declined to answer questions, saying he was late for a meeting.
During Question Period on Thursday, NDP MP Jenny Kwan called the revelations shocking. “Does the Prime Minister really think this is acceptable?” she asked.
Neither the Prime Minister nor Mr. Sajjan were at Question Period, leaving Immigration Minister Sean Fraser to respond. He defended the government’s response to the crisis in Afghanistan, saying Canada helped to save thousands of lives through its evacuation efforts.
