Humanitarian, Refugees and Foreign Affairs

HANSARD: Order Questions for overseas dependents of protected persons

CIMM#59: Government's Response to the Final Report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan and Obtaining Facts from Senator McPhedran

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC, NDP

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you, Senator, for being here today.

I just want to get some facts on the record. Could you tell the committee how many facilitation letters were sent out from your office?

Marilou McPhedran, Senator, Manitoba, not affiliated

I need to clarify—when you say my office—the process that happened. The template we were given by George Young was shared with a number of trusted advocates in different countries who then facilitated, as best they could, people hopefully being accepted by soldiers into the airport.

You asked me for a specific number, but I wasn't keeping track of the numbers. It was about getting as many people, as many women, as possible out.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC, NDP

I'm sorry. I understand that the letter was shared with organizations and trusted advocates so they could distribute letters, but did you not keep track of how many facilitation letters came out of your office?

Marilou McPhedran, Senator, Manitoba, not affiliated

I did not keep close track, no. It was about giving the template to trusted advocates and helping to get the names to create the letters that could be used.

Jenny Kwan Vancouver East, BC, NDP

Let me clarify, then. I'm understanding that your office did not send out any facilitation letters to individuals, but rather sent out these facilitation letters to organizations for distribution.

Canadian Press: Senator says several cabinet ministers knew she was issuing travel docs to Afghans

Sajjan and Mendicino did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and former ministers Garneau and Monsef could not immediately be reached.

In a statement, the immigration department says it can't give further details because of ongoing litigation.

After the meeting, NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said ministers needed to provide clarity to the committee.  "The real question, for me, is ministerial accountability," Kwan said.

CIMM#58: Jenny’s Motions on Bill S-245 and inviting ministers to testify on Senator McPhedran’s affair

“ Related to Bill S-245, given the tight timeline of the requirement for the bill to be reported back to the House, I'm going to move the following motion, Madam Chair, a copy of which, in both French and English, has been sent to the clerk for distribution to the committee members. That motion reads as follows:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 97.1, the committee request an extension of thirty (30) sitting days to consider Bill S-245, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (granting citizenship to certain Canadians), referred to the committee on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, to give the Bill the consideration it requires and that the Chair present this request to the House.

Madam Chair, as indicated, we're kind of a little bit down to the wire here with the timeline. To ensure that the committee has the opportunity to do all the necessary work related to this bill, I therefore move this motion.”

Saltwire: New Canada-U.S. immigration deal puts ‘people in danger’ says former asylum seeker

Seidu Mohammed knows the lengths that asylum seekers will often go to when trying to cross the border into Canada and he worries that a newly signed agreement between the U.S. and Canada will cause even more desperation and harm to those trying to get into this country.

“I am speaking from experience, I almost froze to death, I lost my fingers, and I know what this is going to do for people trying to come here to seek safety, and it’s going to make it even harder on people,” Mohammed said on Monday in Emerson near the Canada-U.S. border.

CTV: 'This should be banned': Federal NDP wants update to immigration agreement suspended

"There was no shelter. No place to go. It was dark, snowy, windy, very cold, and my friend and I, all we were hoping for was just [freedom]," said Mohammed.
Mohammed said he only survived because a truck driver found him and his friend on the side of the road.

Mohammed was ultimately able to claim asylum in Canada and receive his Canadian citizenship certificate, but the trip across the border cost him his fingers due to frostbite.

He was one of several speakers at a federal NDP press conference Monday calling for the Government of Canada to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement.

Toronto Star: He lost his fingers trying to cross the border. Now the new Canada-U.S. deal has him ‘terrified’

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan criticized Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden for “secretly” signing the modified agreement a year ago but only making it public the day before the new rule took effect, on March 25.

“People who are persecuted for trying to escape discrimination, for trying to escape violence, for trying to escape rejection for being who they are, for trying to get to safety would be pushed further underground,” Kwan told Monday’s outdoor news conference amid a -15 C wind chill. 

“Human trafficking will increase as a result of this rule.”

CIMM#57: Jenny asked Justice Minister and National Defense Minister on supports for Afghans

“ Thank you, Minister and officials, for being here today. I think we've been waiting for a long time to engage with you. We very much appreciate this.

The NDP, of course—through my colleagues Heather McPherson, who is the foreign affairs critic, and Alistair MacGregor, who is the public safety critic—wrote to the government on this issue back in December 2021. Subsequently, a follow-up letter was written, in February, to various ministers, asking why action couldn't be taken.

This was especially in light of the testimony presented to the Special Committee on Afghanistan by NGOs that were unable to provide aid on the ground to people who were in desperate need. In fact, World Vision indicated—as did a number of NGOs that came—that, because of these anti-terrorism laws, children were dying of malnutrition. They had packets ready to go and ready to be delivered on the ground, in order to save lives. They were unable to do so.

I'm really struggling to understand why it's taken, basically, two years for Canada to get to this stage, where this Criminal Code change is finally before us for deliberation.”

Global News: ‘Invisible wall’ at Roxham Road will drive persecuted asylum-seekers on ‘a dangerous pathway’: NDP Kwan

During question period at the House of Commons on Monday, NDP MP Jenny Kwan said that the closure of Roxham Road over the weekend with “an invisible wall” would “only drive persecuted asylum-seekers on a more dangerous pathway.” Parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marie-France Lalonde responded by saying that the government had “finally updated” the Safe Third Country Act and that this was a “victory.”

QP: ‘Invisible wall’ at Roxham Road will drive persecuted asylum-seekers on ‘a dangerous pathway’

During question period at the House of Commons on Monday, NDP MP Jenny Kwan said that the closure of Roxham Road over the weekend with “an invisible wall” would “only drive persecuted asylum-seekers on a more dangerous pathway.” Parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marie-France Lalonde responded by saying that the government had “finally updated” the Safe Third Country Act and that this was a “victory.”