Citizenship and Immigration Committee on April 26th, 2023

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'll repeat my question: did the department have to terminate any contracts?

[Stephen Salewicz]

No, we did not cancel any contracts. We had agreements in place with partners already. Those agreements continued until their end. What we couldn't do is start new contracts. We could not put in place new programming with NGOs, and that was the constraint we were living under with the law currently in place. That was a challenge for us, and that's why we refocused our efforts. All our efforts are now through multilateral organizations.

We could not support NGOs as a result, so we did not cancel any contracts. We could not start new programming.

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

Thank you for your very good response.

If I understand correctly, no contracts were terminated, but no other contracts were entered into as a result of the change in Afghanistan.

In addressing my friend Mr. Dhaliwal, you gave a little bit of background on the women and girls who are on the ground right now. Religious minorities in Afghanistan have also been targeted by the Taliban; I am thinking of the Hazaras, among others.

Do you have any reports on the current situation of the Hazaras, in Afghanistan, and what the Canadian government should do to help these people?

[Christopher Gibbins]

Thank you for your question.

The Hazaras have been specifically targeted by the Islamic State. The Taliban did not protect them. Yet, the Taliban had indicated that they could protect Hazara communities, but so far they have not done so. The attacks on Hazara communities have been carried out by the Islamic State.

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

Since the fall of Kabul, you have no reports of what the Taliban are doing to the Hazara community. Is that correct?

[Christopher Gibbins]

To my knowledge, there have been no targeted attacks. That said, there is no support or protection, but there should be.

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

All right.

We have differing opinions on this, but I will also have other experts' opinions, at the upcoming meetings of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Six months ago, we received the government's response to the report submitted by the Special Committee on Afghanistan. What measures has the department put in place to implement the recommendations in the report?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

I'll take this question.

The government response included 37 responses to the recommendations made in this report: 20 went to my colleagues at IRCC, 14 went to Global Affairs Canada and three were with Justice or Public Safety Canada as the lead. We have an extensive table of the recommendations, the responses and the status. It is very detailed.

Global Affairs Canada has taken responsibility for these 14 recommendations, and those are the ones being implemented, including within our department, to continue our.... We have progress on the humanitarian response and progress on responding to the ongoing requests in a number of areas.

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

Your department is still responsible for providing emergency humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. Currently, it has to do so through international organizations, as it is still difficult for Canadian NGOs, as Bill C‑41 has still not passed.

So you have goals. That's what you just told us.

Do you have a mechanism to evaluate whether you are meeting those goals? How do you know whether or not those goals are being met?

[Stephen Salewicz]

Our aid is very focused, as I said, on a few key sectors. Food and nutrition is one of them, as is health care.

We work with just a small number of partners. They report back to us on a regular basis with annual reports, but we're also in touch with them regularly through their headquarters or at the field level to receive indications of how they're using our support. Remember that Canadian support is one among—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting, but the time is up for Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe. We gave him a few extra minutes.

We will now move to Ms. Kwan.

Ms. Kwan, please begin.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you to the officials.

One of the issues around Afghanistan is, of course, to bring Afghans who served Canada to safety, along with their loved ones. The government did bring in a special immigration measure; however, for all intents and purposes, the number that has been established is now full up. Many Afghans who served Canada, and their loved ones, are not going to have their applications processed. They will not be able to get a file number.

The minister indicated at the beginning of today's meeting that he supported all 37 recommendations from the Special Committee on Afghanistan, and part of those recommendations called for the government to bring those who served Canada, and their loved ones, to Canada safely. Have officials engaged in any discussions at all with the minister on ensuring that those individuals have an opportunity to get to safety? The 40,000 limit, the quota that's been established for that special immigration measure, needs to be lifted.

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

The interdepartmental effort continues to fulfill the commitment to bring the 40,000 Afghans who are eligible under this program to Canada. As you know, recently that number reached 30,000—that's an important milestone—so efforts to make the passage to Canada possible continue for those who are already outside Afghanistan. For those who remain in Afghanistan, the questions are much more complex.

I believe that efforts to reach the goals will continue first, before any discussion takes place about surpassing and going beyond the commitments that have already been made.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

I can tell the officials that currently—and perhaps officials are aware—there is a court case challenging the government. This is for 24 former employees of a law firm who were retained by the embassy. One of them is a guard employed by the embassy. They're now in hiding, fearful for their lives.

Their applications, by the way, in the Special Committee on Afghanistan.... It appears that those files were lost; the government can't seem to find them. DND had them and submitted them to Immigration Canada, but Immigration Canada never got them. Anyway, it was a long and arduous process.

There's one cluster of people who are like that. There are others, by the way, including an individual I know of who served the minister. His brother is stranded abroad, as an example.

This can't be the approach. We can't carry on business as usual as though those people's lives don't matter. They've risked their lives to serve Canada.

Is it the case that all discussions around this intergovernmental table are just zeroing in on the quota that has been set? Has there been any discussion on how the quota came about? How did people come up with the 40,000? How did they set the quota for family members and individuals who served Canada?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

I obviously cannot comment on a matter before the courts in a legal challenge right now. Also, in accordance with the decision-making process, I will not comment on the way the determination was made to set targets. It is our job as officials to carry out the decisions of the government, and that's what everyone is working very hard to complete and do amidst very significant challenges.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

It's fair enough that it is not within the officials' authority to set the quota; I fully understand that. However, I hope that officials engage in the discussion about what happens to the people who have been left behind. I get that these situations are challenging, but they're nowhere near as challenging as they are for the people whose lives hang in the balance of Canada's making good on its duty to care and its duty to bring those who served Canada to safety. I hope that discussion is taking place among officials and that perhaps there's advice for the government's consideration in terms of Canada's living up to our responsibility to those individuals and their families.

Similarly, some of these issues have come up in a related situation. We now have a crisis going on in Sudan as well, and we know that in the effort that has taken place, the priority for the government is to take Canadians to safety. However, those who were locally hired and who served the Canadian government are again at the back of the bus.

Are there any discussions among officials about those individuals? What effort is being made to bring them to safety?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

I am afraid the ongoing situation we're living through at the moment is not something I can comment on, and I believe it's not the subject of our discussion today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The time is up for Ms. Kwan.

We'll now proceed to Mr. Redekopp for five minutes.

Mr. Redekopp, please go ahead.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to you guys for coming today.

It's been nearly a year since the Special Committee on Afghanistan released its report on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Many of the recommendations suggested that the government review how it reacts to international crisis and present a whole-of-government approach while working together to surge resources, etc. We've all seen this. In fact, the government's response to recommendation one said that most of the government departments involved have undertaken reviews.

Ms. Hannan, did your department undertake a review based on the results in Afghanistan?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

Global Affairs definitely conducted an after-action review, as is customary after any kind of emergency evacuation. It seems that we have been conducting after-action review after after-action review in the past few years, because there are so many competing global crises we have to respond to.

In this case, certainly one was completed, and an effort was made to identify strengths and areas for improvement in our internal operational readiness and effectiveness as well as in the coordination we do across the whole of government.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Was a report or some kind of document created out of that?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

The emergency management program does create a report for internal use, yes.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Is that something that could be provided to the committee?

[Marie-Louise Hannan]

I'm afraid I can't answer that question, but I can go back to check with our officials responsible for consular and emergency management on that question.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Madam Chair, can we push that question back to the officials?