Question taken on notice

Committee: Special Committee on Afghanistan (AFGH)

By: Ms. Jenny Kwan Vancouver-East

Date: 2022-05-09

Question:

1. Ms. Jenny Kwan: So 3,800 were validated, but on the 3,700 who were evacuated, how many of those 3,700 were the ones the department identified?

I wonder if the officials, then, could table with this committee the numbers for the entire period. How many were identified before the fall of Kabul? How many were identified after the fall of Kabul? How many were evacuated during the two periods in 2021— between August 4 and 15 and between August 15 and 26—and then thereafter? Can we get that breakdown? Could we also get that information tabled to the committee?

I'm also interested in knowing how many have been left behind. Do the officials or the department track the numbers of those who were referred to IRCC? How many of those who were referred to IRCC have subsequently been evacuated or made it out of Afghanistan to safety?

2. Ms. Jenny Kwan: The empty seats were a result of people not being able to get the passports that were required, because of the changed rules. Subsequently, the flights were over-subscribed to make up for those numbers. That is the gist of what I understand.

At the time of the evacuation, did Canada evacuate any Afghans who made it through the airport gates, but were not on the GAC-referred lists or on the IRCC lists?

Do we know how many of the folks fall into that category?

Reply:

Canada successfully transported or facilitated the transport of approximately 3,700 evacuees from Kabul between August 4 and August 26, 2021. This was an incredibly complex Whole-of-Government effort to evacuate Canadian citizens and permanent residents as well as their family members, citizens from allied nations, and Afghan nationals accepted for resettlement by Canada and by allied partners. Indeed, evacuation efforts required intensive cooperation between Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), and National Defence.

For its part, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was responsible for helping allies provide security at Hamid Karzai International Airport after August 19, 2021, and for providing the military aircraft and aircrew needed to transport the bulk of the evacuees destined for Canada.

Given the complex nature of this interdepartmental and multinational effort, National Defence does not hold all the necessary information on the status of persons evacuated to respond in a timely manner. However, National Defence can provide broader information regarding the number of evacuation flights as well as the number of passengers (see below).

Evacuation flights

Prior to August 19 – Canadian flights arriving in Canada

• August 4: 1 military flight with 40 Afghan nationals destined for Canada^{Footnote 1}
• August 7: 2 military flights with a total of 90 Afghan nationals destined for Canada
• August 8: 1 civilian flight with 167 Afghan nationals destined for Canada
• August 11: 1 civilian flight with 163 Afghan nationals destined for Canada
• August 12: 1 civilian flight with 76 Afghan nationals destined for Canada
• August 13: 2 military flights with a total of 100 Afghan nationals destined for Canada
• August 14: 1 military flight with a total of 141 Afghan nationals destined for Canada
• August 15: 1 military flight with 69 people—Afghans nationals destined for Canada and diplomatic staff

Since August 19 – Military flights out of Kabul

• August 19: 175 Afghans accepted under the immigration programs of other nations and 13 foreign nationals.
• August 20: 106 people destined for Canada including Afghan nationals, Canadians citizens and their families and a permanent resident. As part of Canada’s contribution to the coalition air bridge, this flight also carried Allied military assets and personnel.
• August 21: 120 people including Canadian citizens and their family members, Afghan nationals accepted for resettlement by Canada and Afghan nationals accepted for resettlement by our Allies and partners. As part of Canada’s contribution to the coalition air bridge, this flight also carried Allied military assets and personnel.
• August 22: 437 people including Canadian citizens and their family members, Afghan nationals accepted for resettlement by Canada, or accepted for resettlement by our Allies and partners.
• August 23: 505 people including Canadian citizens and their family members, Afghan nationals accepted for resettlement by Canada, or accepted for resettlement by our Allies and partners.
• August 24: 534 people including Canadian citizens and their family members, Afghan nationals accepted for resettlement by Canada, or accepted for resettlement by our Allies and partners.
• August 25: 451 people including Canadian citizens and their family members, Afghan nationals accepted for resettlement by Canada and Afghan nationals accepted for resettlement by our Allies and partners.
• August 25-26: Coordination with Allies enabled transportation of approximately 443 people destined for Canada. Breakdown of classification is not available at this time.