By Canadian Press

Fraser pressed on why Immigration has not approved 2,900 Afghans who helped Canada

May 10, 2022 | 12:46 PM

OTTAWA — NDP caucus chair Jenny Kwan says she is seeking urgent answers about what has happened to the applications of 2,900 Afghans who helped the Canadian military.

Kwan is demanding Immigration Minister Sean Fraser explain why the Afghans, whose credentials were checked and verified by Canada’s military, have not had their applications to come to Canada approved. 

Defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre told a parliamentary committee Monday night that the Defence Department had checked and verified the credentials of 3,800 Afghans, including interpreters, who supported the Canadian military. 

But the committee heard from Eyre and Bill Matthews, deputy defence minister, that only 900 of them have had their applications to come to Canada accepted so far by the Immigration Department. 

Kwan said she is planning to pursue the matter vigorously with the department as the lives of Afghans who helped Canadian troops are in danger from the Taliban. 

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She also plans to ask if the Immigration Department has lost files of Afghan interpreters who want to come to Canada, saying the government has “betrayed them.”

“With every single passing day, the risks are heightened for Afghans,” Kwan said. “And for those who served this country and their loved ones, it is wrong that the government has left them behind.” 

She said the Taliban is hunting down interpreters and their families, and she wants Canada to issue a one-time travel document so vulnerable Afghans do not have to raise their heads to apply for passports. 

It is dangerous for Afghans who helped Canadian Forces to apply to the Taliban authorities for passports, Kwan said.

“When you are being hunted down and you are trying to hide from the Taliban, you can’t just walk into the office run by the Taliban and say, ‘Can you issue travel documents, issue passports for my entire family?'” she said. 

“The minute you do that, you are putting a red flag right on top of your head to be targeted.” 

The Immigration Department was not available for immediate comment. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2022.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version reported that 3,100 Afghans had not yet been approved to come to Canada.