SoVote

Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills, CPC)

Jun/8/22 4:22:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to comment on the supplement to the report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan. Our supplementary report adds the following evidence and observations not included in the main report. While all NATO allies scrambled in the withdrawal and evacuation last August from Afghanistan, Canada performed particularly poorly. The war in Afghanistan was Canada's longest war. Canada's withdrawal from Afghanistan last August was not only a betrayal of our soldiers, diplomats and Afghans themselves, but it was a disaster that has damaged Canada's interests for years to come. Allies and competitors around the world will question the strength of the Canadian government's commitments and whether the government is willing and able to back up these commitments with effective action. Afghans who worked for Canada were left behind and are being persecuted by the Taliban, precisely because they worked for Canada. The Canadian government had a moral duty to evacuate these Afghans and their families and failed to do so.

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Context: House Hansard - 84 - Jun/8/22

Mr. Kody Blois

Jun/8/22 11:04:30 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-19

Madam Speaker, I believe the member opposite asked my hon. colleague, the Minister of Immigration, a question on this and he said that this was something they were looking at internally in the department. I do not have the specifics on that. What I will say is that I am proud of the government's record on immigration. We have been tabling important numbers in terms of levels. We have brought in 15,000 Afghans. The minister has made it very clear that we are going to continue to drive forward toward our goal of 40,000. We have brought in 80,000 Ukrainians and we have, I think, close to 200,000 applications that we are going to continue to focus on. I have Syrian immigrants in my riding who are so thankful and proud to be in Canada. It has been this government that has taken this approach. The member opposite ran on a platform that did not even support government-assisted refugees. That program was going to be cut.

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Context: House Hansard - 84 - Jun/9/22

Mr. Darren Fisher (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors, Lib.)

Jun/9/22 12:00:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, following the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan last summer, the government initially committed to resettling 20,000 vulnerable Afghan refugees. We have now increased that commitment and will bring at least 40,000 Afghans to Canada. On July 23, 2021, the Government of Canada announced special immigration measures for individuals with a significant and/or enduring relationship with the Government of Canada, along with their accompanying family members. On August 13, we announced a special humanitarian program focused on resettling Afghan nationals who are outside of Afghanistan and who do not have a durable solution in a third country. This program focuses on women leaders, human rights defenders, LGBTQI individuals, and journalists and people who assisted Canadian journalists. We have also created a pathway to permanent residence for extended family members of former Afghan interpreters who previously immigrated to Canada under the 2009 and 2012 public policies. IRCC has mobilized its global network, and all available resources are being devoted to this effort. IRCC is also prioritizing the processing of privately sponsored Afghan refugees. The department is harnessing the generosity of Canadians, including through sponsorship agreement holders and through individual and corporate donations for private sponsorship. Yesterday, as the member said, we marked an important milestone by welcoming our 15,000th Afghan refugee to Canada. Hundreds more are arriving each week, including 300 privately sponsored refugees today. I think it is important to put Canada's commitment to Afghans into a global context. Per capita, our goal of bringing at least 40,000 Afghan nationals to Canada places us among the top countries in the world when it comes to resettlement, second only to the United States on numbers alone. In terms of raw numbers, our commitment of 40,000 is larger than that of the United Kingdom and Australia, and is the same as the one being pursued by the European Union, which has ten times the population of Canada. We remain firm in our commitment to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan nationals as quickly and as safely as possible, and we will not stop until the work is done.

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