Afghanistan Committee on Feb. 14th, 2022

[Aziz Amiri]

Okay.

Once again, thank you very much for the opportunity to be here.

Number one, we would like the number of Afghan refugees coming to Canada to be increased from 40,000 to 100,000. Back in 1975 to 1982, Canada received over 120,000 Vietnamese during their war, and I'm sure we have the capacity to receive a whole lot more than 40,000 people. We know their lives are in danger.

Number two, the business council would like to see an allocation or quota for Afghan businesses and corporations that would like to come to Canada from Afghanistan. We will be benefiting from their talents and investments.

Number three, the third country requirement is fine. As we all know, the refugees need to be registered with UNHCR, which is very problematic. We would like that recognition of UNHCR waived for Afghan refugees in order for us to sponsor them.

Number four, the Canadian government sent a substantial number of medical supplies to Syria during their war. We would like the Canadian government to do the same for Afghanistan. Also, we would like the Canadian government to charter one, two, three or more airplanes so we can collect donations from our community and other communities to send.

Number five, for employees of Canadian companies in Afghanistan, we would like to have a quota for them to come here.

Number six, on the PR for extended family members of the translators program, which was there from 2009 to 2012, we would like to request the inclusion of their extended family in the program.

Number seven, the pre-removal risk assessment for Afghanistan was announced in October 2021. However, no refugee claimant who has received a negative decision has yet been accepted. We therefore request that all Afghan refugee claimants whose claims were formally refused be accepted.

Number eight, due to the unstable political situation in Afghanistan, we request that all refugee claimants waiting for their protected person status here in Canada and those under PR applications with H and C, humanitarian and compassionate grounds, be accepted.

Number nine, considering the crisis in Afghanistan, Afghans would like to be able to sponsor their parents. The current lottery program is lengthy. We would therefore request a new stream of programs to create and allow Afghans to sponsor their parents.

Number 10, we would like to see more funding for the settlement offices or organizations to be able to settle the newcomers. However, the newcomers who are coming or have been coming have been greatly supported by our community.

The last item is that the Canada Afghanistan Business Council is working on a portal where we could match the newcomers with Afghan businesses in Canada.

I will cease my talk here, and I hope [Inaudible—Editor]. I will be open for any questions.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you very much, Mr. Amiri. You were very well within the time frame.

Now I will go to the honourable members. The first round is six minutes. Members, would you have your stopwatch going as well so we can stay within the time limits.

First I will go to the Conservative member, Mr. Hallan, for six minutes, please.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses.

My questions are for Ms. Faizi.

Your organization has helped settle many refugees, including refugees from Syria as well.

Before Kabul fell in August 2021, was your organization ever in contact with IRCC or the Canadian government in any way, whether it was to tell them about Kabul falling, or about any urgency or urgent situations?

[Asma Faizi]

We started to get involved in the summer, in June, when we were approached by women parliamentarians and activists from inside Afghanistan. They had written a letter asking us to bring to the attention of the Canadian government the dire situation they were in. We wrote to the government and then there were some subsequent meetings throughout the summer.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

What happened in those meetings? What were they about?

[Asma Faizi]

Those meetings were more generally debriefing meetings with a group of ministers, including ministers from Immigration, International Development and GAC.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

At any point in meeting with them was anything brought up about fast-tracking any applications, or were they just about describing the crisis that was happening in Afghanistan?

[Asma Faizi]

Certainly, as a women's group, we were getting calls daily from women who were inside Afghanistan. They were fearing for their lives. We were trying to bring attention to those women and the risks and were trying to get the Canadian government to help them, whether through resettlement or through some temporary program so we could get them outside of Afghanistan.

We also had a couple of calls with some senior policy folks at IRCC.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Did they promise any kind of action, and if so, what kind of action?

[Asma Faizi]

Because the situation unfolded so quickly, I think they were actually caught off guard in terms of the magnitude of what was going on and the fast manner in which the foreign troops, including Canada's, evacuated. Some of the people we tried to help were able to get out through other manners, through U.S. mechanisms and others. Unfortunately, we were not able to help some of the people we were trying to help.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Between August and October, were you ever in contact with those departments again?

[Asma Faizi]

We have been writing letters. Since the fall, we've had a meeting with Minister Fraser. We had a meeting with him in December. We've requested meetings with Minister Sajjan and Minister Joly, but we haven't received any meetings yet, but we met with the Minister of Immigration in December and we have a follow-up meeting with his staff later this week.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

What was that meeting about? Did your organization ask for anything, and have you seen any changes with regard to that?

[Asma Faizi]

We raised the issue about the timeline, because there are a lot of Afghans who are in immediate need, and the timeline that has been set to bring these 40,000 Afghans is 2023. We urged him to find a way to expedite the process and make it sooner. With the Syrian refugees, we brought in 25,000 in 100 days, and we're hoping that something could be done in that manner. That was one of our asks.

The other ask was around the criteria the government has set to bring the Afghans here. The criteria are quite narrow. A lot of the women we were trying to help didn't meet the criteria under the special immigration program. For example, gender-based persecution is not captured, so we were trying to ask the minister to revisit those criteria to ensure they are broader so that those additional people we're trying to help can be brought to Canada. So far we haven't received anything. We're hoping at the follow-up this week that they're going to be able to tell us whether they've made any movement on these asks and also on removing the cap on sponsorship agreement holders to be able to bring in Afghan refugees. That's a big barrier to private sponsorship holders such as us. We've only been—

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

I'm sorry to cut you off but I have only a little bit of time left.

I would just point to the Liberal-made backlog in immigration as probably being one of the reasons these applications are not moving very quickly. That's a complaint we keep hearing over and over again.

Do you know the number of applications you had before August 15, 2021, and how many more applications you have as of today's date? What kind of processing times are you seeing for those and what kind of delay? Could you table those with the committee, please?

[Asma Faizi]

Sure.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Chair, how much time do I have left?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Your time is almost up now.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Could I just ask her to also table where those applications are from? Are they from inside Afghanistan, outside Afghanistan, and the numbers of them, please?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you kindly. Your time is up.

We'll now go to Ms. Zahid for six minutes.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

First of all, I thank all the witnesses for appearing before the committee.

My first question is for Mr. Amiri.

Thanks for coming today. I'm very well aware of the good work you do under the organization, Canada Afghanistan Business Council, and thanks for your leadership on that.

Thank you for helping me better understand what is happening in Afghanistan, especially since the return of the Taliban. I know you and your members have a lot of connection and insight into what is happening on the ground there.

From the humanitarian aid perspective, is the aid getting through to the people actually in Afghanistan, especially the medical aid? What are the aid gaps in terms of the needs and the resources? Where should Canada be focusing its humanitarian aid efforts?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Go ahead, Mr. Amiri.

[Aziz Amiri]

Thank you very much, Madam Zahid. I appreciate your leadership in the community here. A lot of Afghan refugees and new immigrants are benefiting from your support and your hard work.

No doubt in Afghanistan right now we need a lot of help. Afghanistan is going through a very difficult time in history. People are starving. As we know, people are selling their kids and their organs for food.

We need a lot of help.

We want the government to be able to organize and help through the United Nations, because many local NGOs unfortunately, and unfortunately some of the neighbours, haven't been delivering the assistance properly. Our hope is that the United Nations will give them an active role in delivering that help.

There is no doubt that medical supplies are needed, but in this wintertime, food and other supplies are much needed. We are requesting that Canada and other countries help.

As far as channels go, I believe the United Nations would be the proper channel to help, aside from some other international NGOs.

Thank you.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Amiri.

My next question is for Ms. Faizi.

I know the Afghan Women's Organization well and I thank you and sister Adeena Niazi and all your team for the important work you are doing.

I would like to ask you about the situation for women and girls today in Afghanistan. Particularly, I am concerned about the households with no male members, which can make it difficult or at times impossible for that household to go out and access the humanitarian aid.

Could you please speak to the situation for women and girls and the situation for households without male members of the family? What specific recommendations do you have for what Canada can do to make sure that humanitarian aid gets to those households?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Ms. Faizi, go ahead, please.