U.S. House passes bill to expedite visas for Afghan interpreters; no plan yet from Ottawa
In a near unanimous vote, U.S. lawmakers have agreed to expedite visas for Afghan interpreters hoping to escape Afghanistan as the Taliban regains territory.
The first cohort of relocation flights are expected to take off from Afghanistan by the end of July, and when they land they will be provided temporary housing and services by the Department of Defense on the base at the request of the Department of State, according to a spokesperson.
Ottawa still has not released a plan or a timeline for the Afghan interpreters who aided Canadian troops, despite mounting calls for accountability and action from Canadian veterans and members of the public.
“I have received a lot of death threats from [the] Taliban because of my job with the Canadians,” an interpreter named Purr told CTV News.
Purr said he spent eight months working the Canadian Armed Forces.
“We need out of Afghanistan as soon as possible, if our lives are precious to the Canadian government,” he said.
Purr and his family are in grave danger from the Taliban, he says, adding that the group have flagged all seven of them as traitors.
In light of Ottawa’s delays, Canadian veterans and members of the public have stepped in to use their own resources to help.
Military historian with the Royal Military College of Canada Sean Maloney, who completed 11 tours of Afghanistan as a civilian, has pivoted to that mission – helping Afghan allies get to safety.
“The murder squads they’ve got going around, that’s real,” Maloney told CTV News of the Taliban’s hunt for interpreters and support staff who aided foreign troops. “I am getting that [information] from a bunch of people and they’re utterly terrified.”
Maloney described the Taliban “showing up at the door” and taking the fingerprints of those they suspect worked for foreign countries. “If you’re in the database, you’re gone,” he said.
“Right now I'm talking to people that are in hiding that have avoided the fingerprint scans and the roundups and they've gotten out of certain areas,” Maloney said. “That will expand throughout the country, and more the Taliban takes control.”
National security and policy expert Kamran Bokhari of the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington, D.C., described the situation facing the interpreters as “grim.”
“They are definitely in danger,” Bokhari said in an interview with CTV News. “The fate of these interpreters that have been left to the mercy of the Taliban, their situation is pretty grim.”
Bokhari said that the situation on the ground is complicated with many areas returning to Taliban control, but despite none of the 34 provincial capitals being taken, the interpreters still have “no protection.”
“The state that is supposed to protect them can’t do it effectively, especially in areas that are beyond the reach of Afghan security forces,” he said. “They have every reason to be terrified.”
The logistics of evacuating interpreters and their families is no simple task, especially without the aid of the federal government, including identifying who qualifies for evacuation.
A previous special immigration measure for Afghans who worked with the Armed Forces settled more than 800 Afghan nationals and their families in Canada from 2009 to 2011 and a revised version of that program that began in 2012.
Back then interpreters needed 12 months of service between 2007 and 2011, as well as proof that their lives were in danger.
A previous statement emailed to CTVNews.ca from the Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino’s office said that Afgan interpreters who were ineligible under the special immigration measure can apply to immigrate to Canada through existing provisions under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and those who meet those criteria may apply for humanitarian and compassionate considerations which are assessed on a case-by-case basis – but that process can take years.
And while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland both reiterated earlier this week that Canada’s plan would be coming “soon” – for now, Afghan interpreters and their families are left waiting.
“We have no doubt our people there are at extreme risk right now,” Maloney said. “This is murder.”
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
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.
Local Spotlight
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.