A Canadian veteran group is abandoning its efforts to evacuate Afghans who have supported Ottawa’s military and diplomatic mission in the country, citing staff shortages and a federal immigration system that is overburdened with bureaucracy. The Veterans Transition Network, which says it has raised $ 3.6 million and helped rescue 2,061 Afghans since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, is refocusing on its top priority to help Canadian veterans. post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems. Oliver Thorne, executive director of VTN, said the burdensome bureaucracy, lack of federal funding and the difficulty of finding safe routes out of Afghanistan had forced the charity to abandon the evacuation work. Mr Thorne said VTN staff had been exhausted from dual duty, especially from the extra workload to handle the complicated application process implemented by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Bureaucracy and security controls are causing significant delays in visa approvals for Canada’s Afghan allies, he said. “What we are seeing is government policy that averts the risk to the point of being selfish and influencing organizations like ours,” he said, stressing that the mistake was not the IRCC’s civil servants. “We are connecting with really hard-working people who really want to help, but seem to be bound by a policy that simply does not align with the real needs of this evacuation.” Former Afghan embassy guards plead with Ottawa: “Please do not forget us” Afghan interpreters are pushing Ottawa to save their families Mr Thorne said VTN and other groups of veterans, such as the humanitarian organization Aman Lara, were frustrated by the slow pace of visa approvals, the IRCC’s failure to meet visa requirements and security checks, and biometric verification. The delays have forced many former Afghan interpreters, embassy security guards, cooks and drivers to seek refuge in safe houses to avoid Taliban retaliation. He urged the government to streamline the process for Afghans who risked their lives for Canada, as Ottawa did for Ukrainian nationals fleeing the Russian invasion. The situation is urgent, he said, because the Taliban are chasing Afghans who worked for Canada and other Western allies. “What would make the process easier is the possibility of biometric verification upon arrival in Canada. “This will really eliminate a huge administrative burden for applicants,” he said. “If that does not happen, it’s something like a disposable travel document… to allow people without passports to travel to Pakistan, where they could do biometrics.” Mr Thorne said Ottawa has also become very restrictive of how groups like VTN can use federal money to help Afghans with their living expenses. “Obviously there is great concern about the possibility that the funds could end up in the hands of the Taliban,” he said. “[But] reaching to the extremes. “We have heard from people in the government that there is concern that the purchase of gasoline could lead to taxes being levied on the Taliban.” VTN will stop accepting donations on May 2 and the money raised during this period will be used for resettlement evacuations. “It’s really a difficult decision. “We closed in on it for a harder and much longer time than we originally expected, but there is also the reality that we need it here at home,” Mr Thorne said. Retired Lt. Gen. Andrew Leslie, a former Liberal MP and commander of the Canadian Army, said Afghans were being killed while waiting for their promised Canadian travel documents. In recent months, he has said he has been unable to contact some of his Afghan friends and fears they have been killed by the Taliban. Leslie blames Justin Trinto for visa delays and bureaucratic roadblocks. He said that the Prime Minister failed to intervene and order the streamlining of the process, as he did for the Ukrainian citizens. “It is unforgivable. “We have a Byzantine emergency response system, a huge gathering in the prime minister’s office with people who, in many cases, have no idea what they are talking about,” Leslie said. “Unless the prime minister and the finance minister are personally involved, there will be no change.” Immigration Minister sets two-year timetable for fulfilling promise to relocate 40,000 Afghans to Canada Canada has pledged to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees. So why are thousands still stuck abroad? Mr Trinto and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said the closure of the Canadian embassy in Kabul had made it difficult to process the documents and that the Taliban were preventing Afghans who had been resettled in Canada from leaving. Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen has accused Mr Trudeau of abandoning Canada’s Afghan allies in their “darkest hours”. “There has to be political leadership to make these tough decisions and you have to tell civil servants to do that,” she said in an interview. “There is full political will in Parliament to do what is necessary.” Six former Afghan Army interpreters told the House of Commons Special Committee on Afghanistan last week that family members and colleagues left behind must complete more than a dozen forms and face rigorous security reviews. They asked to be treated the same as Ukrainian citizens. Ottawa is rapidly modernizing the immigration process to help resettle Ukrainians, including lifting biometric requirements for the elderly and minors. The government has also abolished most of the usual visa requirements and allows Ukrainians to stay and work in Canada for up to three years. “There is no doubt that the possibility of exemption from documentation for people over 60 and under 18, which would facilitate the process,” said Mr Thorne. Many Afghans, including more than 50 former Canadian embassy security guards, say they received an automatic response acknowledging their request in early August, but have not heard anything since. Veterans writing letters of recommendation for Afghans have had the same experience. Ottawa managed to evacuate about 3,600 Afghan allies before the end of rescue flights in late August. In November, Canada launched a special immigration program for the extended families of its former Afghan employees. To be eligible, applicants must be in Afghanistan by or after July 22, 2021. It has also established a program for women activists, human rights defenders and Afghan journalists. The government has pledged to resettle 40,000 refugees from Afghanistan. More than 10,600 have arrived in Canada since August. For subscribers: Receive exclusive political news and analysis by subscribing to Political information.
