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IN THE NEWS: Global News - ‘We’ve really reached a tipping point’: Scarred by COVID, Chinatown leaders want city to remember its commitment

Said Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan: “Chinatown as we know will disappear if we do not get the support from all levels of government.”

Kwan wrote Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in July 2020, calling for a lifeline for the National Historic Site in the form of federal emergency funding.
In comparison, federally-owned Granville Island received $17 million in emergency relief in 2020, with another $22 million earmarked in the 2021 budget.
She told Global News she received no response.  “I’d like to ask the government what is the difference between Granville Island and Chinatown. Are we less important?”
Global News put the question to Freeland, but she did not offer a clear answer, and instead used the opportunity to praise the federal wage and rent subsidies.

'We’ve really reached a tipping point’: Scarred by COVID, Chinatown leaders want city to remember its commitment

Said Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan: “Chinatown as we know will disappear if we do not get the support from all levels of government.” Kwan wrote Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in July 2020, calling for a lifeline for the National Historic Site in the form of federal emergency funding.

In comparison, federally-owned Granville Island received $17 million in emergency relief in 2020, with another $22 million earmarked in the 2021 budget.

She told Global News she received no response. “I’d like to ask the government what is the difference between Granville Island and Chinatown. Are we less important?”

Global News put the question to Freeland, but she did not offer a clear answer, and instead used the opportunity to praise the federal wage and rent subsidies.

NDP Statement: NDP statement on announcement for special measures for Afghan nationals with significant ties to the Government of Canada

"While the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said that these measures are “timely,” there is nothing timely about announcing long overdue measures the day after the tragic death of an Afghan interpreter. The eligibility gaps in the previous Conservative program which ended in 2011, that have led to this situation, were criticized at the time as only 1 in 3 applicants were eligible. It’s unconscionable that a decade later we are still here.

"Just weeks ago, the Minister said Afghan interpreters can apply under existing programs while the NDP had been calling for dedicated measures. The Liberal’s scramble to change their tune is demonstrated by the fact that the government is still unsure how many Afghans are eligible to come to Canada, but that they will be consulting the military’s list of interpreters that have worked with Canada’s military. After all this time, why is the government only consulting this list now?

IN THE NEWS: Globe & Mail - Special immigration measures will help Canada resettle thousands of Afghans who worked with military, embassy

The NDP’s defence critic, Randall Garrison, and its immigration critic, Jenny Kwan, released a statement saying these measures are “long overdue” and that it was “unconscionable” for Canada not to have done more already.

“The Liberals’ scramble to change their tune is demonstrated by the fact that the government is still unsure how many Afghans are eligible to come to Canada,” the statement said.

Globe NEWS: Former Canadian embassy employee says he fled Afghanistan after Taliban attack, urges Ottawa to extricate his family

Asked whether the government would accept former employees of the Canadian embassy in Kabul, Mr. Mendicino said his inclination is to be as inclusive as possible.

Last week, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to set a date for when Ottawa will get Afghan interpreters and staff out of Afghanistan. NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan has called on Mr. Mendicino to put in place a special immigration measure to provide immediate refuge to those who aided the Canadian government and their families.

Rather than wait for the federal government to act, a group of Canadian veterans have recently used their personal savings to move Afghan interpreters and other locally employed workers to safer parts of Afghanistan. Not Left Behind, an organization created to press Canada to safeguard the lives of its Afghan employees and their families, said that former members of the military have funded safe travel for more than 20 families since Friday.

IN THE NEWS: Canadian Press - Permanent residency application rejections

Recently released figures show the rejection rate for permanent residency applications on humanitarian and compassionate grounds has risen sharply over the past couple of years.
"These decisions were done quietly behind closed doors and there is little public accountability in this opaque and discretionary process," said NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan.
Canada allows some people who would not usually meet the criteria for permanent residency to apply on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, which are considered on a case-by-case basis according to factors such as how settled someone is here or the best interests of children.
According to data the Immigration Department provided in response to an order paper question from Kwan this spring, the rate of applications refused after processing ranged from 35 to 41 per cent between 2016 and 2019. Those figures do not include applications that were withdrawn.

Canadian Press NEWS: Special immigration measures will help Canada resettle thousands of Afghans who worked with military, embassy

Recently released figures show the rejection rate for permanent residency applications on humanitarian and compassionate grounds has risen sharply over the past couple of years.
"These decisions were done quietly behind closed doors and there is little public accountability in this opaque and discretionary process," said NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan.
Canada allows some people who would not usually meet the criteria for permanent residency to apply on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, which are considered on a case-by-case basis according to factors such as how settled someone is here or the best interests of children.
According to data the Immigration Department provided in response to an order paper question from Kwan this spring, the rate of applications refused after processing ranged from 35 to 41 per cent between 2016 and 2019. Those figures do not include applications that were withdrawn.

Globe NEWS: Former Afghan drivers who worked for Canada say their lives are in danger from Taliban reprisals

“For two decades, Afghan drivers served our Canadian embassies, military and our RCMP. After years of trusted service, the Liberal government is refusing to allow a pathway to safety for Afghans who served Canada. Trudeau is turning his back on them in their hour of need,” he said.
NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan has also called on the government to help Afghan employees who worked for the Canadian government.
On Friday, Ms. Kwan wrote an open letter to Mr. Mendicino urging him to put in place a special immigration measure to provide immediate refuge to Afghan interpreters and their families who have been left behind.

IN THE NEWS: Montreal Gazette - Rejections for permanent residency requests in Canada doubled since 2019

The data comes from an access to information request filed by the New Democratic Party.
“The Liberal government must explain why there is such a surge in denials of humanitarian requests and take immediate action to rectify this,” said NDP MP Jenny Kwan in a statement. She is accusing the Liberals of having “discreetly made decisions behind closed doors” concerning an already “opaque and arbitrary” immigration process.
“We don’t understand what’s going on,” Hussan said. “There has been no policy change, no announcement.”  Hussan added that by doubling rejections, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is doubling the exploitation of migrant workers without status. The change of direction “condemns the migrants already here” by “depriving them of the possibility of having rights,” he said.

Globe News: Canada working to resettle dozens of Afghan interpreters and staff facing retaliation from Taliban

Dozens of Afghan interpreters and others who worked for the Canadian government during its military mission in Afghanistan are hoping to be resettled in Canada amid fears their lives are in danger from Taliban reprisals as the U.S. withdraws its troops from the war-torn country.

New Democrat immigration critic Jenny Kwan said as Canada’s allies withdraw troops from the country, “time is of the essence” to resettle Afghan employees who aided the Canadian government.
“To say that Canada will monitor the situation, which is the minister’s response, that’s akin to saying that Canada will stand on the sideline and watch as Afghan interpreters receive the death sentence,” she said in an interview.
Ms. Kwan also took issue with the idea of dealing with cases individually, calling it a “stock answer to quell public pressure.”
Afghan interpreters who helped the Canadian military, Ms. Kwan said, should not be left behind.