CIMM – Overview of Government Response – February 8, 2023
Key Messages
The Government of Canada remains committed to welcoming at least 40,000 vulnerable Afghans by the end of 2023. As of February 1, 2023, almost 28, 000 (27,870) Afghans have already arrived in Canada.
The Government supports the vast majority of the recommendations of the Special Committee on Afghanistan Report and appreciates the work of parliamentarians to help vulnerable Afghans.
We share the Committee’s focus on reinforcing partnerships with like-minded countries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and referral partners, and we are working closely with multiple countries and groups to bring Afghans to Canada as quickly as possible.
We also share the Committee’s view that we must offer as much flexibility and clarity as possible to our Afghan clients who are fleeing an incredibly volatile and dangerous situation in Afghanistan, and have introduced multiple unique pathways and processing measures for Afghans.
In line with the Committee’s recommendations, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), with other government departments, is actively reviewing lessons learned during the response to the Afghanistan crisis. In addition, as part of IRCC’s Strategic Immigration Review, we are examining how to best position IRCC to respond to similar future refugee crises.
Supplementary Messages
Since the Report’s release in June 2022, we launched a new temporary public policy to facilitate sponsorship by Groups of Five and Community Sponsors by waiving the requirement for Refugee Status Determination for 3,000 privately sponsored refugees, and we have already begun processing these applications (noted in Government Response).
IRCC is also supporting the Government of Canada’s ongoing work to explore measures, including legislative options, that could create exemptions for Canadian organizations and Canadian officials seeking to conduct humanitarian and other essential activities in regions controlled by a listed terrorist group, while avoiding the legal risk of committing a terrorism financing offence.
Since the Committee tabled its Report in June 2022, 43 charter flights have arrived in Canada with approximately 13,000 (12,983) Afghan refugees.
Background
On June 8, 2022, the Special Committee on Afghanistan presented its Report to the House of Commons, entitled “Honouring Canada’s Legacy in Afghanistan: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis and Helping People Reach Safety.”
The Report includes 37 recommendations, of which 21 specifically concern IRCC.
The IRCC-led recommendations cover a range of issues that may be grouped across four key themes:
lessons learned and approach to crisis response;
support for safe passage out of Afghanistan and Criminal Code limitations;
immigration pathways and eligibility requirements; and,
processing of Afghan applications and responsiveness to Afghan inquiries
Of the 21 responses, IRCC:
“fully agrees” with 11 recommendations;
“agrees in principle” or “agrees in part” with seven recommendations;
