Canadian vets take action as feds won't give timeline on extracting Afghan interpreters
Afghan interpreters who helped Canadian troops on the front lines have yet to hear from the federal government on how they plan to extract them, as many desperately try to escape the resurging Taliban.
The Taliban claims it now controls about 80 per cent of Afghanistan after the U.S. began its exodus from the Middle Eastern country, with the full evacuation of its military set for Aug. 31 as per President Joe Biden’s announcement earlier this month.
While the U.S. has begun the process of evacuating some 2,500 interpreters and other support staff to a military base in Virginia pending approval of their visas, Afghans who helped Canada have heard no plan from Ottawa -- and Taliban forces are closing in.
“They wanted to target the people who worked with the coalition forces – they called us “kafir” – which means infidels,” said Elyish, who says he worked for the Canadian forces in Afghanistan as an interpreter for a year.
“It’s very scary. We hear 24-hour fighting going on, and the gunshots…and air strikes inside the city.”
Elyish says he is in hiding and has been on the run for years, moving his family several times to keep out of the Taliban’s hands – who he says are hunting him down for being a “traitor.”
“I’m under threat in Afghanistan, they’re not going to let me and my family leave,” he said.
Elyish had a personal note for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: “As soon as possible, please take us out of this country, it’s so very horrible and very dangerous for us right now. We cannot go anywhere.”
However, the recent rescue mission that spirited Elyish and his family away to a safe house in another part of Afghanistan did not come from federal government, but from Canadian veterans reaching into their own pockets.
Afghanistan veteran Corey Shelson, who is part of a group Canadian veterans trying to use their own resources to help interpreters get to safer parts of the country, told CTV News that his sources paint a bleak picture of what is happening on the ground.
“We’re hearing that the Taliban…have vehicle checkpoints all over the place, to the point now where they’re locking down villages and going house to house, hunting for anybody who served with the International Security Assistance Force,” Shelson said.
Shelson and his group say they are stepping into the void left by Ottawa’s slow response – criticizing the Canadian government for “words, not actions.”
“The group I’ve been working with are a collection of veterans and concerned citizens with a bias towards action…and the action we’ve been taking is trying to do whatever we can to help affected individuals get to a safe place where they can ride this thing out until the government catches up and creates an evacuation plan,” Shelson explained.
“Ten years have passed and this isn’t a new issue,” Shelson said of the interpreter’s plight. “These are people that Canadian veterans fought beside, slept beside, ate with, that we relied upon to come home alive – I’m only here today, able to raise my family because of their collective efforts.”
Trudeau was asked about Ottawa’s plan for Afghan interpreters while touring a factory in Brampton, Ont., Monday, telling reporters that “it is so important that we be there for people that have put their lives at risk to support Canadians.”
“That’s why we are working extremely hard and we’ll have more to say very soon,” he continued.
Trudeau’s refrain of “soon” was echoed by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland at a press conference Monday, who said that Canada had a “real moral obligation” to the interpreters and other support staff left behind.
“I am very confident that Canada will act appropriately here,” Freeland said.
When asked about a possible timeline for an evacuation plan, Freeland replied that she “was not going to pre-empt the announcement” of her colleagues Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau, but that “we will act.”
In an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca, a spokesperson for Minister Mendicino’s office referred to comments made last week about the issue, and reiterated that the government “will do right by those who did so much for Canada.”
“We are aware that a number Afghan nationals who previously worked or currently work for Canada are in fear for their safety. These include interpreters and others who worked for the Canadian Forces during the combat mission, and Locally Engaged Staff currently employed by the Embassy of Canada in Kabul,” the statement reads.
The statement said the office is “seized with the urgency of the situation,” and the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) office is working closely with the Department of National Defence and Global Affairs Canada to “finalize a plan.”
“Operational teams are currently on the ground in Afghanistan to support these efforts,” the statement continues. “Given its complexity, this situation presents unique obstacles, in addition to the regular admissibility checks that are conducted on anyone immigrating to Canada.”
“We know that lives are hanging in the balance. There's a need to take timely and decisive action to support the Afghans who supported our armed forces, and we will.”
But with the situation worsening in Afghanistan, Ottawa’s lack of timeline and lack of details has spurred veterans and members of the public to take action into their own hands.
Kate Rusk’s sister, Capt. Nichola Goddard, was the first Canadian Forces woman to die in battle in Afghanistan. That’s why she helped create the advocacy group “Not Left Behind,” encouraging Canadians to petition their MPs to bring the Afghan interpreters overseas.
“I'm involved because I have a number of friends and family and loved ones who are currently serving or who have served in the past,” Rusk told CTV News. “I realized that we've put our veterans in a position where they're individually trying to save their friends and colleagues - they are sending their own money and trying to co-ordinate logistics, and…using their own resources to help fix a problem that frankly exists because of our actions and our inactions.”
“There is a really finite amount of time that we have,” Rusk said. “What we’re doing is just trying to get that message out because I really don’t believe Canadians would be okay with this if they knew it was happening.”
Shelson and his group believe there could be upwards of 600 to 700 interpreters, drivers, translators and their families who are at risk in Afghanistan for helping the Canadian Forces.
“This isn’t a surprise, it’s been months and we haven’t done anything,” Rusk said. “I think it’s a shame.”
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A healthy lifestyle can mitigate genetic risk for early death by 62%, study suggests
Even if your genetics put you at greater risk for early death, a healthy lifestyle could help you significantly combat it, according to a new study.
When you have a moment's notice to evacuate, what do you take?
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Ellen DeGeneres addresses the 'hurtful' end of her talk show in new stand-up set
Ellen DeGeneres is reflecting on how her talk show came to an end in her newest Netflix special, 'Ellen's Last Stand ... Up Tour.'
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Local Spotlight
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
Chris Hadfield inspires youth musical in Sudbury
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
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.
Federal government bans watercraft from Manitoba lake popular with tourists
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
Toronto-area dessert shop featured by Keith Lee forced to move after zoning complaint
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.
'Oh Crap!' New exhibit at Canada Science and Technology Museum explores human waste
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.'