AFGH – Introductory Remarks for the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship at the House of Commons Special Committee on Afghanistan (AFGH) on Immigration Measures – April 25, 2022

Ottawa, Ontario

April 25, 2022

Introduction / overview of program

Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to address this Committee on the Government’s efforts to resettle Afghan refugees.

As you know, Mr. Chair, following the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan last summer, the Government initially committed to resettle 20,000 vulnerable Afghan refugees, and we’ve now increased that commitment to bring at least 40,000 vulnerable Afghans to Canada.

I’m proud to say that we’ve welcomed over 11,500 Afghans to Canada, with more flights arriving every week.

Just last Thursday, over 330 Afghans who supported Canada’s mission in Afghanistan arrived on a charter flight from Pakistan to Calgary, with two more charters arriving this week, with both privately sponsored and government assisted refugees.

There are several distinct and specialized pathways that we implemented for Afghan refugees. This, coupled with unprecedented logistical obstacles and the dire situation on the ground has created real challenges for the program.

This is why I am pleased to be here today, and to have offered to stay for the full 2 hours, so that I can take the time to address some of these questions and provide additional information and clarity. I sincerely look forward to receiving recommendations from this committee’s report to see what we can continue to do to support with vulnerable Afghans.

Our programs include the Special Immigration Measures for Afghan nationals, who, like those that arrived in Calgary last week, directly assisted the government of Canada as part of our mission in Afghanistan.

As part of our commitment to resettle over 40,000 Afghans, we will welcome approximately 18,000 individuals and families who had a direct, significant, and enduring relationship with Canada, through their work with the departments of National Defense or Global Affairs.

A special stream that we have implemented is aimed at resettling 5,000 extended family members of interpreters already living in Canada that were not included in the 2009 and 2012 programs.

We also implemented a separate humanitarian stream, to welcome even more Afghan refugees based on their particular vulnerabilities—including women leaders, LGBTQ2 people, human rights defenders, journalists and members of religious and ethnic minorities.

As with our standard refugee programs, the humanitarian stream works through a referrals system and individuals do not apply directly. Instead, individuals are referred by designated partners, trained and experienced at assessing vulnerability and operating in situations of mass displacement and humanitarian hardship.

Referral partners include the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Front Line Defenders, Protect Defenders, and Canadian private sponsors.

In light of the current situation in Afghanistan, and as an exceptional measure, we will waive the requirement for a Refugee Status Determination for some private sponsorship applications, broadening sponsor access to the program.

This is one of the ways we’re continuing to work with the thousands of Canadians across the country who want to help any way they can.

In addition to all these special pathways, we’re going to work with partners to utilize the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot, an innovative program designed to help skilled refugees resettle in Canada, to welcome even more Afghan refugees.

Processing

By using our network of migration offices and implementing flexible approaches where possible, we’ve streamlined applications from Afghanistan to process cases as quickly as we can.

In every scenario, we are identifying and implementing creative solutions including: waiving certain standard requirements; expanding eligibility for certain pre-arrival supports; providing dedicated communication channels; delivering new e-application intake tools; undertaking biometrics collection trips; and mobilizing significant resources.

Mr. Chair, by far, the biggest challenge is that many of the individuals selected under the Special Immigration Program are still in Afghanistan, a country controlled by a terrorist organization, in which the Government of Canada has no military or diplomatic presence.

And our usual international partners are unable to provide typical logistical support and arrange for their travel.

There are millions of Afghan refugees who have fled Afghanistan, and if we wanted to bring 40,000 Afghans who are already in third countries, we could deliver our program more quickly.

However, we made a commitment to certain individuals and their families on the basis of their work with Canada, and we will not turn our backs on them, even if it means doing the harder thing –which is to continue to pursue all avenues to find ways to get them out of Afghanistan and to Canada.

We’re doing everything we can and innovating new ways to help Afghans inside and outside of Afghanistan, including working with NGOs and engaging with other governments.

We’re going to continue working to secure safe passage for those in Afghanistan, so they can travel to a safe third country which allows us to complete application processing and facilitate onward travel to Canada.

We’re working with partners in the region, whether it’s state, international organizations, or non-profit organizations to identify a path forward.

For example, we’ve partnered with Aman Lara - a veteran run organization that helps to evacuate individuals from conflict zones - who have assisted in the safe passage for thousands of Afghan Refugees destined to Canada.

The biggest hurdle is not the processing capacity of the Government of Canada – it’s situational and environmental factors on the ground in Afghanistan. These are challenges that we are working on every day. that we share with like-minded partners. We are not alone in the obstacles and challenges we face.

Canada’s commitment on the world stage

I think it’s important to put Canada’s commitment to Afghans into a global context.

Unlike other partner countries in the region and some of our allies, Canada did not have an established military presence in the months and years prior to the fall of Kabul, and yet we have one of the largest commitments and efforts dedicated to resettling Afghan refugees.

Per capita, our goal of bringing at least 40,000 Afghan nationals to Canada places us amongst 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 the same as the one being pursued in the European Union, which has ten times the population of Canada.

We have a longstanding and proud tradition of welcoming the world’s most vulnerable, and we’ll continue working hard to bring people to Canada as quickly and safely as possible.

Since the fall of Kabul, the Government of Canada has received over 1 million communications from those expressing interest in coming to Canada, evidently a far larger number than we could bring to Canada. This is evidence of the scale of the human tragedy that continues to unfold in Afghanistan.

Canada will continue to work with partners to provide crucial humanitarian aid to those who need it the most, in order to support the brave people of Afghanistan in the years to come. And, we will provide a new home in Canada to more than 40,000 of them.

I know this will be incredibly hard news for many vulnerable individuals, but the hard reality is that not everyone who expressed interest in coming to Canada will be eligible under our program.

As we’ve said, our priority is those who’ve directly supported Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, families of interpreters, and other Afghans from groups targeted by the Taliban.

And I know that many have been waiting for a response from the Government of Canada regarding their eligibility under the Special Immigration Measures stream.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be communicating directly with hundreds of additional individuals newly eligible for our program, as well as those who are not eligible at this time.

And let me be clear – we’ve been working hard to bring those who are already approved under this program to Canada, and more flights are arriving across the country every week. This is in spite of the severe operational challenges we and our allies are facing on the ground.

Settlement

We also need to make sure that we support Afghans upon their arrival in Canada, and making this broad-reaching initiative a success will continue to require collaboration across the Government of Canada, as well as with provinces and territories, resettlement and settlement service providers, private sponsors, francophone minority communities, other stakeholders and all Canadians.

Canadians from all walks of life have stepped up to help, and it’s been truly heartwarming to see many former Syrian refugees offering their support to newly-landed Afghans as well.

We’ve also established the National Afghan Steering Committee last August, which is led by Fariborz Birjandian. He’s a former refugee himself and the Executive Director of one of the largest and most successful resettlement agencies – the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society.

The Steering Committee is coordinating volunteers and donations on behalf of all Resettlement Assistance Providers across Canada that are welcoming Afghan refugees into their communities.

It’s sometimes easy to get lost in the numbers, and forget the human element of this story.

Over 11,500 Afghans have already arrived in Canada. That’s over 11,500 lives which have drastically changed for the better, as they’re welcomed into their new homes and communities across the country.

This initiative is top of mind for me, and every time I meet an individual who has arrived through our program, I’m reminded that this is but a continuation of Canada’s longstanding humanitarian commitment in helping some of the world’s most vulnerable.

I think of the children of Afghan Human Rights Defenders that I played soccer with in Calgary, the interpreters that I ran into on the street that same day who had just finished their 2 week quarantine, the families I greeted as they disembarked a charter flight from Tajikistan to Toronto, and when I was in British Columbia I met with Afghan-Sikhs who came to Canada with the help of the Manmeet Singh Bhullar Foundation.

These are all now uniquely Canadian beginnings, and they have become a part of our country and of our society. All of whom now get to contribute to the Canadian story.

We will keep working extremely hard to welcome more Afghans in Canada as quickly and safely as we can.

Mr. Chair, I would now be happy to answer any questions that committee members might have.

Thank you very much.