A former Canadian military legal officer says a group of Afghan lawyers and other staff who helped his mission in Afghanistan have been "left in the dark," and is urging Canada's Immigration Ministry to act quickly to help them escape the Taliban.
It's been one year since Canada began accepting fleeing Afghans through its one-year special immigration program for Afghans who helped the Canadian government, set up a few weeks before Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021.
To date, roughly 17,170 Afghans have arrived in Canada. Last month, the Liberal government closed its immigration program to new applicants, less than halfway toward its goal of bringing 40,000 Afghans to Canada.
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.
