Image: Afghan Refugees. Image credit: Wikimedia commons
New referrals for the special immigration program meant to prioritize former employees of the Armed Forces or the Canadian government and their families are reportedly being shut down by Canada’s federal government.
The program which was set up nearly a year ago with a promise to bring 40,000 Afghans to safety was left only less than halfway with roughly 16,540 Afghans arriving in Canada since August of last year.
The Canadian government is processing the last of the 18,000 applications filled out by Afghans hoping to come here through the program.
Although the online referral portal for the program is still up, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship spokesperson for Immigration Minister Sean Fraser confirmed in a media statement that all spots in the program have been taken up.
“IRCC has applications for more than 15,000 Afghans and their family members in various stages of processing,” the spokesperson wrote. “Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and National Defence have shared referrals with IRCC for the remaining spots.”
Lauryn Oates, the executive director of Canadian Women 4 Women in Afghanistan, one of the groups behind the joint statement reportedly is calling on the government to extend the program for another year and to expand the number of spots open to Afghan immigrants.
Calling the decision to wind down the program “unconscionable.”, MP Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative critic for immigration said,
“While winding down these programs to new applicants is shameful in its own right…Fraser must remove unnecessary barriers, fix existing programs and double their efforts to work with groups on the ground that are helping Afghans escape the Taliban. Lives are on the line with every delay.” he said in a media statement.
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