Afghanistan Committee on April 4th, 2022

[Paul Thoppil]

I think that's a question that's best addressed to IRCC. Unfortunately, it's not within Global Affairs Canada's purview. I'm sorry.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you very much, Madam Kwan. That was right on time.

We will now begin our second round. It will be Mr. Hallan for five minutes, Mr. El-Khoury for five minutes, Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe for two and a half minutes and Madam Kwan for two and a half minutes.

Mr. Hallan, go ahead, please. You have five minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses.

My first question is for Mr. Salewicz and Mr. Hill. Were either of your departments ever contacted by the government or briefed before August 2021 about Kabul or anything about Afghanistan falling?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Go first, Mr. Salewicz, and then Mr. Hill can respond.

[Stephen Salewicz]

I think I'll turn this question over to Mr. Thoppil. I'm on the humanitarian side. I'm not aware of that information.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Honourable member, are you okay with that?

Mr. Thoppil, go ahead, please.

[Paul Thoppil]

As the minister said correctly, there was active monitoring through our Five Eyes partners and our people on the ground on what was transpiring, through daily reporting, in order to understand both the fragility of the situation—

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

Respectfully, Mr. Thoppil, I'm talking about before August 2021. Was your department ever briefed on Kabul falling?

[Paul Thoppil]

As I said, prior to the fall of Kabul, and over the years preceding it, we were doing daily sitreps on the situation on the ground.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Let's go through the chair if we can. Thank you.

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

Mr. Chair, this is through you to Mr. Thoppil. Again, in the year before August 2021—within that year, between August 2020 and August 2021—was your department ever briefed that Kabul was going to fall? What was that conversation like and when did that happen?

[Paul Thoppil]

Mr. Chair, as I said, we were doing active situation reporting over the course of that year that the—

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

Okay. I don't feel like I'm getting an answer on this one at all. Thank you.

Ms. Loten, you mentioned that it was a situation that happened immediately. It happened so quickly and it was rapid. According to the UNHCR, which testified to this committee, they briefed the government as early as January 2021 that Kabul was going to fall.

Was your department ever made aware between January and August 2021 of anything about Kabul falling?

[Jennifer Loten]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Unfortunately, this is an area that I would prefer to direct to the geographic. From a counterterrorism perspective, we were not focused on the status of any governments and we were not focused on the particular plight of Kabul as much as the pattern of Daesh and al Qaeda in the region.

I would prefer this question be directed toward the foreign policy and the geographic.

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

Ms. Loten, does your department engage with or coordinate with IRCC at any level?

[Jennifer Loten]

IRCC is a key stakeholder and partner and interlocutor for Stephen Salewicz's section of the department, which does humanitarian assistance. We don't use the international Red Cross as an intelligence connection at all. That would not be appropriate.

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

Whoever this can be directed to is with IRCC.

What is the current concern with not being able to get the Afghan interpreters here? We hear that the minister of immigration has made some insensitive comments about security threats. What's currently holding back some of the interpreters from getting here?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Madame Loten, do you want to answer that?

[Jennifer Loten]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

As far as the screening procedures and Afghans coming to Canada are concerned, those questions.... I apologize that my answer appears to be evasive. It's not my intention at all.

Those are questions that need to be directed to IRCC, which has the lead on the screening procedures for entering into Canada.

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

Mr. Thoppil, through you, Mr. Chair, it would seem that the interpreters who were here last week on a hunger strike have been asking for some of the stuff that Ms. Kwan brought up. The process is taking way too long for them, compared to what's happening with Ukraine.

Can you explain a bit why there is a difference?

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Mr. Thoppil, you have 20 seconds to respond.

[Paul Thoppil]

Thanks. Mr. Chair, I believe that that question is, unfortunately, best answered by IRCC, because they have the mandate related to the passage of Afghans.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sukh Dhaliwal]

Thank you very much, Mr. Hallan.

Now we'll proceed to Mr. El-Khoury for five minutes.

Please go ahead.

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I welcome the guests and witnesses.

My first question is for Mr. Salewicz.

Mr. Salewicz, do you think Canada has options for action other than humanitarian assistance provided through contributions to the UN?

[Stephen Salewicz]

I certainly don't want to leave the impression that the only partner we work with on the humanitarian front is the UN. We do have a variety of other partners with whom we engage. We do support the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is a key partner in Afghanistan for supporting medical relief operations. They are currently supporting, if I'm not mistaken, over 90 health facilities right now in Afghanistan. We also work with a number of NGOs. We work with an American NGO named International Medical Corps, which is also responsible for delivering humanitarian assistance on the health front.