Canadian military charity, Veterans Transition Network, has called on their government to cut bureaucratic hurdles for at risk Afghans and fly them into Canada and do the checks while they are safe in the country.
According to Global News, Tim Laidler, himself a veteran of Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan, said in an interview that the Canadian government should make the process of accepting Afghan refugees simpler by abandoning the requirements for them to obtain a passport from the Taliban and travel to a third country to be security checked and fingerprinted. The Canadian government, Laidler said, should do the checks after they arrived in Canada, adding that if some posed any risks, “send them back.”
“What I’d really like to see is the Canadian government fly Afghans directly from Afghanistan to Canada, and as a public, we accept the risk that there may be some people on those planes that shouldn’t be here.” Adding that “I think the risks are so high that we should be pushing for all the remaining people who we’ve said can come to Canada to get their fingerprints done in Canada and not go through a third country.”
The Canadian government has come under pressure from some politicians and organisations for not doing more, after the the murder of former female Afghan lawmaker Mursal Nabizada, who was awaiting to be resettled in Canada.
Prime minister Justin Trudeau pledged last week that “We know there’s more to do, and we’re going to continue working to make sure that the most vulnerable people are able to get out.” adding that “At the same time, we have to recognize that the Taliban is not allowing people to leave.”
The Canadian government announced in September last year that it had resettled 20,000 Afghans out the 40,000 it had pledged after the Taliban’s return to power.
