'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
On the heels of a modest prediction that it will take up to two years before Canada can fulfill its promise to bring 40,000 Afghan refugees to Canada, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says political will is not the reason for the delay.
Speaking to CTV National News, Fraser says the government remains committed to its promise, but notes it faces unique challenges in Afghanistan and other countries where refugees have fled.
Here is what Fraser said regarding the effort to resettle 40,000 Afghanistan refugees:
CTV National News: There is an urgency to get people out of Afghanistan and Canada has promised to help those who served with Canada, those who are vulnerable. Why is it taking for long?
Fraser: It’s important that we reflect on the fact that there are people moving right now. We’ve got about 4,700 people resettled in Canada to date. Just last week, we saw the first chartered flight of privately sponsored refugees arrive in Canada at Pearson airport. By the end of this week an additional 520 will be arriving, and I expect that you’re going to see a more regular pace of arrivals going forward.
For the people that are in the country today, let’s remind ourselves that we’re dealing with a territory that has been seized by the Taliban – a listed terrorist entity by Canadian law. They are in no mood to do any favours to the government of Canada and if they were, I don’t think they’d be any good at it.
CTV National News: Have they been left behind? You’re talking about challenges that seem insurmountable and those left in Afghanistan feel as though they’ve been left behind.
Fraser: I’m very hopeful. But the enormity of the task is not lost on me. These are people that we want to help. I can tell you if it was a matter of political will, these people would be here yesterday. The bottleneck is really not the internal processing capacity of the government of Canada, its situational and environmental factors either on the ground in Afghanistan, capacity of partners in the region, or other kinds of logistical challenges along the way.
CTV National News: Forty-thousand people over two years is not the same as getting them out of danger now when their lives depend on it. What do you say to those people?
Fraser: We’re dealing with navigating a war zone in which we do not have a presence. And as soon as we have concrete information that we can share about the steps an individual person may take in the process, we’re going to communicate that with them. And in the meantime, we’re going to continue to work to see these arrivals, increase their pace, and have more people settled in our communities as soon as possible. We’ve made a commitment, and we’re going to make good on that commitment no matter what it takes. There’s an awful lot of people that have done a world of good for the Canadian Forces during our time in Afghanistan. There’s an awful lot of people that we’ve made a very public commitment to resettle in Canada. Canada is a nation that does not go back on its word.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.