Just one quarter of the 40,000 refugees Canada committed to help have arrived so far
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says thousands of Afghans have been approved for refugee resettlement in Canada, but the Taliban is preventing them from leaving the conflict zone.
“If this was a matter of political will, there would have been 40,000 Afghan refugees here months ago. The realistic situation is there is not safe passage for thousands and thousands of people who would like to come to Canada, some of whom have been approved to come to Canada,” Mr. Fraser said. There have been deep concerns about the fate of former Afghan interpreters and support staff, including cooks, guards, drivers and cleaners, ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan last August.
“There’s never been more demands on our immigration system in Canada. But I don’t think we can use the fact that we’re facing a lot of demands to not do the right and just thing when a humanitarian crisis erupts in the world,” Mr. Fraser said. The other half of the Afghan arrivals – 4,990 people – have come to Canada through the humanitarian resettlement program, which offers protection to refugees from vulnerable groups, including female activists, human-rights advocates and Afghan journalists.
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