Afghanistan Committee on March 28th, 2022

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Thank you for sharing your insight, Mr. Taheri.

Ms. MacLean, I'd like to ask you a question. You shared with us the documentary on the wonderful work we're doing with the female officers in Afghanistan. You mentioned that you really don't want to see any type of money being sent to Afghanistan, and I'm well aware of why.

What is your belief on sending humanitarian aid? How do you think humanitarian aid should be delivered in Afghanistan? As you know, there is a focus with gender-based violence, as you mentioned, and we want to make sure that we support women and children.

I just wanted to hear your thoughts on that.

[Alison MacLean]

I absolutely support a humanitarian aid corridor that Canada funds and manages. I do not believe sending money into Afghanistan is a good thing. However, I do believe in sending, for instance, Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross. Our Canadian military is more than capable of doing a humanitarian aid drop that Canada manages and controls. There are many people, like myself, who know the country. I've actually been there six times—four times with combat embeds. The humanitarian aspect is essential, but we cannot be providing money to the Taliban.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you very much, Mr. Sidhu. Your time is up.

We'll go to Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

Go ahead, for six minutes, please.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank all the witnesses who are here to participate in our study, which is extremely important.

To conduct this study, we decided to focus on the humanitarian crisis. There are obviously lessons to be learned from the management of the crisis. The members of the committee decided that there should be something to learn from this. What can we do, now and in the very short term, to help the Afghan people, who are currently experiencing a tragedy of immeasurable proportions?

We have been conducting this study for some time now, and I have had the opportunity to ask some witnesses what the committee report's top priority recommendations should be in order to make a difference. They named several: suspending administrative formalities such as forcing someone to fill out a form on the Internet when they are in mortal danger; not having to have refugee status to sponsor someone from Canada; and having a diplomatic presence on the ground, in Pakistan and elsewhere, to help Afghans come to Canada.

I'd like you to tell us what you think.

Do you support these recommendations? What is your top priority? It is extremely important that we know this before we write our report.

I would like Mr. Taheri to answer the questions first. After that, Ms. Moloney and Ms. MacLean can answer them. I would like to hear from all three of you.

[Djawid Taheri]

Honourable member, my first priority is ensuring that the recognition under UNHCR for each refugee be waived, be eliminated, as was done in the past. In fact, this is not something that was in the law in the past. It's only in the past decade or so that this came to be.

We've always made exceptions in certain circumstances. The government has to treat this situation as an emergency. We need help today, not two years from today.

The government has indicated that the program is going to be implemented in the next two to three years. That's too long. We have the capacity to do this a lot sooner. We don't need to have people stuck in third countries and a never-ending saga of a determination process. We could have them just the way we are doing it with the Ukrainian community. We can bring them here and then process the paperwork in Canada. That can be done. People can be issued temporary visas to come to Canada. Instead of the standard six months, we can extend it to a year or two years. In the interim, the biometrics can be done. Whatever needs to be done in terms of paperwork, there will be support here for those potential refugees and they can get the help they need and the protection they require.

Given the circumstances and country conditions, a prima facie situation as far as refugees are concerned, we have to recognize that these people need the help of countries such as Canada. To allow more time to pass, we're exposing a lot more people to risk, and in my opinion, that's not okay.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

What you just said is interesting.

Ladies, I'm going to let you speak, don't worry.

Mr. Taheri, what explains the disparity between the structure set up in the Ukrainian crisis and the one set up in the Afghan crisis? Shouldn't there be standard measures to speed up the processing of applications during a humanitarian crisis, regardless of where it occurs on the globe?

[Djawid Taheri]

I guess Canada is learning from its mistakes of the past seven or eight months. It's learning how to handle an emergency situation, and that's good. However, at the same time, we should not forget the initial crisis. We can't just start something and then move on to the next crisis. I can't agree with the fact that....

Ukrainians are in need, just as Afghans are. I myself am a victim of such an invasion from the same country, back in the 1970s and 1980s. Therefore, I understand and I feel for those people, but at the same time, we should also recognize that Afghanistan has been in turmoil and conflict for the past four decades, non-stop. I think we all owe it to those people—

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

I totally agree.

[Djawid Taheri]

—particularly the ones who have sacrificed their lives in the past 10 years for the cause of democracy and human rights. They have dedicated themselves, committed to and supported our mission.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

I don't want to cut you off, Mr. Taheri.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

You have 50 seconds left.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

However, I would like to leave the floor to the other witnesses.

Mr. Chair, do I have any time left?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

You have 40 seconds.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Taheri, I'll come back to you afterwards, in any case.

Ladies, I would like to hear your priorities.

[Djawid Taheri]

Absolutely.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

You still have 30 seconds.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Ms. Moloney and Ms. MacLean, can you both name a priority?

Mr. Taheri, I will come back to you afterwards.

[Katherine Moloney]

Thank you for the question.

My number one priority on behalf of Afghans living in Canada is that their extended family is able to join them to be safe here in Canada. That is especially for parents, children of any age and siblings, but also, where there is substantiated risk, other dependants as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you, Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Ms. Maclean, I'll get back to you later.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Now we'll go to Ms. Kwan for six minutes, please.

Go ahead.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses for their presentations.

You're absolutely correct, in the sense that when Canada undertook the Syrian refugee initiative, we waived the refugee determination requirements. However, that is not being done in this instance. In fact, any of the refugee sponsorships from the group of five process also would not get the waiver of the refugee determination process. From that perspective, it means that people would not be able to get out within the 40,000 that the government wants to resettle.

I hear that this is your number one priority for the government to undertake. Why do you think the government is not proceeding with it?

I actually don't understand it. I've talked to the minister, it feels like a million times, raising this issue, but they're refusing to acknowledge this and move forward. Do you have any speculation as to why that is?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Whom did you want to question?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I'm going to ask all the witnesses, if I could, please.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Okay. We'll start with Ms. MacLean.