With the latest planeload of Afghans fleeing the Taliban and immigrating here as refugees last week, Canada is now within a few thousand people of reaching its goal of providing a safe haven for 40,000 Afghans.
“Today, Canada welcomed 218 Afghan nationals to Halifax, where they will continue on to their new homes in approximately 22 communities across this beautiful country, including Halifax, London, Surrey, and Toronto,” tweeted Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Wednesday.
The latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reveals that Canada has welcomed 37,875 Afghan refugees since August 2021.
That includes 11,715 Afghans who have arrived in Canada through the special immigration measures set up by Ottawa for those who assisted the Canadian government in Afghanistan.
Under those programs, Canada has received 19,650 applications and approved 12,930 of them.
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“Afghan nationals arriving through the humanitarian program fall under the government-assisted refugee and privately sponsored refugee programs,” notes the IRCC website.
“We’re working with trusted international and Canadian partners to implement this new humanitarian program. Afghan nationals don’t apply directly to us for this program.”
So far, 19,575 Afghans have immigrated to Canada under this humanitarian program.
Under Canada’s humanitarian resettlement program, those deemed to be the most vulnerable among Afghans, including women leaders, human rights defenders, persecuted and religious minorities, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals and journalists, are given priority.
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“Although the Afghanistan resettlement effort is one of the largest and most difficult in Canada’s history, we remain committed to maximizing every opportunity to support these vulnerable Afghans in their transition to a better life in Canada,” said former Immigration Minister Sean Fraser when the program was rolled out.
There is also a pathway to permanent residence for extended family members of former interpreters for the Canadian government who are already in Canada and have resettled here under public policies from 2009 or 2012.
So far, 2,485 extended family members of Afghans have immigrated to Canada through that pathway.
The IRCC developed several special programs and measures to bring Afghans to Canada out of recognition for the help they provided during Canada’s combat role and, later, its peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan from 2001 through to 2021.
Taliban Takeover Of Afghanistan Forced Many Afghans To Flee For Their Lives
During those missions, 158 Canadian Armed Forces members died in the cause of peace and freedom in Afghanistan.
After the Taliban fundamentalist Islamic group finally seized control of the country in mid-August, 2021, many Afghans sought to escape out of fear of retribution for their help of Canada’s missions and support for western democratic freedoms.
The IRCC has made it easier to sponsor Afghan refugees through the humanitarian program, allowing groups of five and community sponsors to sponsor Afghan refugees without having to submit a refugee status determination document if this document isn’t available.
“The safe and dignified resettlement of refugees globally has been a central part of International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) work for more than 70 years and we are proud to be part of Canada’s efforts to provide a new home for tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans,” said IOM director general António Vitorino.
As they have arrived in Canada, the Afghan refugees have been welcomed in communities across the country.
Canada, one of the first countries to launch a special humanitarian resettlement program for vulnerable Afghans, is also welcoming up to 5,000 extended family members of Afghan interpreters who came to Canada as part of earlier programs.
Upon their arrival in Canada, the Afghan refugees get a minimum of 12 months of income support under the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) and also have access to settlement services, including language training and the Interim Federal Health Program for medical coverage.
