Citizenship and Immigration Committee on March 22nd, 2023

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting. The time is up for Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

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

Already? That was a short discussion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Yes.

We will now proceed to Ms. Kwan. Ms. Kwan, you have six minutes. You can begin, please.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you.

With regard to special immigration for interpreters and collaborators, the government announced a new measure for cultural advisers after being sued by family members who had loved ones left behind. That special immigration measure only targets those who worked for the Department of National Defence in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021. Those who worked for Canada in actuality but worked under NATO or ISAF are not qualified for this program.

Does the department know how many of our cultural advisers who worked for NATO or ISAF are in that category?

[Weldon Epp]

Madame Chair, I don't think we know the answer to that question.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Is that something that officials can find out and report back to the committee?

[Weldon Epp]

We'd be happy to endeavour to do so.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you so much. I think it would be important.

It doesn't make sense, right? These are people who are obviously a part of the important work they're doing, and Canada, of course, is a part of NATO, so I would appreciate that. Hopefully, there will be some changes to ensure that those families get to safety.

I want to get back to the question that I asked of the minister with respect to the legislation, and you've heard my comments about Doctors Without Borders. I'd like to get the officials' response to that.

[Weldon Epp]

Jennifer, do you want to take this one?

[Jennifer Loten]

Sure.

The legislation was presented in Parliament fairly recently. It'll go through the process, and I think we'll be looking at how it applies. Organizations that have been part of the process and that have been working with us to develop these solutions will obviously have reactions. We're very interested in hearing what those are so that we can get a look at how we can implement this amendment so that it does the work that we intend it to do. I used the word “enabling” a moment ago, and I'll use it again. Our intention is to make sure that these organizations can do the excellent work that we want them to do, and we've been working hand in hand with them over the course of the process of review to make sure that it does that.

However, I would say that the way it's set up at the moment, and the reason that it's not simply a humanitarian carve-out, is that it does enable a broader category of engagement than what would simply be envisioned in a humanitarian carve-out, so we can work, in this case, on education, on health care, on livelihood issues. It's all spelled out in the legislation at the moment. We look forward to hearing from stakeholder organizations what their reactions are to this, and we hope to continue to work in partnership with them so that it works the way it's intended to.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Would officials be able to table, for this committee, the list of stakeholder groups consulted on this bill?

[Jennifer Loten]

I think we can do that. We want to be a bit careful about the organizations, though. There are security issues. This is not the case at the moment, but it will become so when the legislation comes into play.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you. We will, of course, be mindful of that. It will be kept confidential.

I'd also like to canvass the officials with this question: What work is being done with third countries to help, for example, Afghans at risk—those being hunted by the Taliban—get to safety?

I understand that officials and the minister may not be able to say, “This is what we're doing”, because if it's put out there, it might shut the system down. However, could officials advise that work under way—or done—is actually bringing people to safety? Is that still in operation, at the moment?

[Weldon Epp]

Could I clarify that we're referring to work that facilitates exit from Afghanistan, then safe passage onward?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

That's correct.

It's also about work for people who don't have a valid visa. For obvious reasons, they can't go to the Taliban and say, “Hey, give me a bunch of visas.” Soldiers would put a bull's eye right on their forehead.

How are we helping those individuals ?

[Weldon Epp]

Madam Chair, the broad answer is this: Through the partnerships we have with Pakistan and the UAE, and working with the United States and others, we'll continue to provide screening we can't do on-site in Afghanistan. This allows us to address valid security and identification issues, knowing many people are fleeing without passports. They're not fleeing with proper identification. That's why we're positioned and are working with partners to do biometric screening in third countries, which allows us to then facilitate onward movement.

For example, a charter flight arrived earlier today in Vancouver—or was it late last night? Another 368 Afghan refugees have just come in. That work is ongoing, to answer your question.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Does that include people who don't have valid visas? Are any people arriving without valid visas?

[Weldon Epp]

Do you mean valid visas for Canada?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

No, I mean valid visas for the third country—Pakistan, or wherever they are.

[Weldon Epp]

I understand.

This includes working with our partners to facilitate, as smoothly as possible, the exit from third countries of individuals eligible for the programs we offer. We recognize, particularly in the case of Pakistan, and to the point the member raised earlier, that there are pressures in some of these communities because they may be overstaying the visas they have, and the Government of Pakistan has chosen, as is its right, to apply fines. We continue to have conversations with governments, including the Government of Pakistan, and we have no evidence to date that these individuals are being refouled or sent back to Afghanistan, so we will continue to work with Pakistan to provide the pathways to allow them to transition, even if they've overstayed or have to pay fines before they can come to Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Ms. Kwan, your time is up.

We will now proceed to Ms. Rempel Garner for five minutes.

Ms. Rempel Garner, please begin.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'm wondering whether Global Affairs can table with the committee the criteria list, or any sort of selection list, used to select people to receive facilitation letters during the initial evacuation in 2021.

[Julie Sunday]

Madam Chair, the letters of facilitation were exclusively sent to Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members. They were not—

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Okay, so that was it.

What about the criteria list for evacuating Afghan nationals? Could you table with the committee the criteria your department used to select who would be evacuated on the flights that came out in August 2021?

[Julie Sunday]

Those individuals would have been selected by the immigration department, so—