Mélanie Joly

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I would like my colleague to tell us why, in their own election platform last August, the Conservatives did not have plans to bring in 40,000 Afghan refugees. Why were they against the refugee program that was proposed by the government?

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, as I told my colleague, we will always be there to protect Canadians, in Afghanistan or elsewhere in the world. That is a priority for our government.

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, any Canadian who is imprisoned anywhere in the world is a priority and has access to consular services.

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague needs to understand two things.

First of all, the situation in Afghanistan is very difficult right now in terms of safety and security. That is why my deputy minister went to the region to try to find solutions to bring in the 40,000 refugees as quickly as possible. In the meantime, however, my job is to speak with other countries—

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, of course we have the resources. When we welcomed 65,000 Syrian refugees, we were successful and we had the resources.

My esteemed colleagues should be proud, because not many countries in the world would be prepared to receive 40,000 Afghans. We can be proud because we are ready to welcome them and we will be proud to welcome them.

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I would reply, why not?

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, there are several. Many of them have a connection to Canada. However, because Canada left Afghanistan in 2014, many interpreters also have a connection to several other countries because they were often serving other members of NATO, the military alliance Canada belongs to that was present in Afghanistan.

I also want to let my colleague know that a number of countries are in a situation—

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, that would be a question for my colleague, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, but with regard to the consular services that were offered and are still available. However, the diplomatic mission in Kabul is no longer—

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, of course, conditions in Afghanistan were difficult and have become even more so since the Americans decided to leave the country.

[Business of Supply, December 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I was not in office at the time. However, I can tell my colleague that when the Americans decided to leave Afghanistan last August, Canada had long since left Afghanistan, in 2011, and its remaining soldiers left the country in 2014.