Citizenship and Immigration committee  Madam Chair, I'll start and then pass it to my colleague Julie. First of all, I understand the concern for the question. There is no closure to the tragedy that's unfolding in Afghanistan. Our department and the immigration department have teams that report to us and continue to work on this every day.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Madam Chair, I'm not going to presume to speak for the department to answer that question. I think we recognize the spirit in which it was done, which was to recognize individual and team efforts—best efforts—under very difficult situations—

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I don't think that was the spirit of it and I don't think a reasonable observer would conclude that either the Government of Canada or Global Affairs Canada as an institution in any way, shape or form feels that the response to the fall of Kabul is over. It's an ongoing operational piece of our work every day.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Jennifer, do you want to take this one?

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

Citizenship and Immigration committee  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.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Do you mean valid visas for Canada?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  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.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm going to turn to my colleague, Jennifer Loten, who is our expert on the matter.

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

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We'd be happy to endeavour to do so.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you for the question. It's an excellent question. In fact, the most affected neighbouring country, Pakistan, has the largest population of refugees anywhere. Some of that is very long-standing, but there was a significant surge after the fall of Kabul. The Government of Canada has been working closely with the Government of Pakistan to move forward with safe passage and transition to Canada for those who are invited through the programs that have been discussed by this committee, and also to provide support to stabilize the situation and allow the Government of Pakistan to provide for the humanitarian needs of that large community.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'll ask my colleague to supplement the answer in a moment. That recommendation, in broad lines, is accepted by the government. The fact is that the existing division of labour is fairly clear. As you mentioned, Global Affairs Canada does have the lead for responding to and managing task forces for international crises.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I can reprise.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Or I can try to answer in French.