Canada would consider accepting Afghan refugees on behalf of the United States and its allies

By Moira Warburton

(Reuters) – Canada would consider taking in more Afghan refugees on behalf of the United States or other allies if asked to do so, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said on Friday.

“We have to keep the door open to all possibilities,” Mendicino said in an interview.

“If there were Afghans who had assisted the coalition partners during the mission and who also met the criteria for our humanitarian resettlement program, I think we should be prepared to consider such an arrangement,” the minister said. .

Canada is part of a coalition of countries frantically trying to evacuate Afghan citizens who supported Western missions in Afghanistan over the years, amid a Taliban takeover of the country that has happened in days, rather than months as expected.

Canada withdrew most of its troops from Afghanistan in 2011, but participated in a NATO mission to train the Afghan army until 2014.

Helping Afghans who supported Canada’s past missions has become a hot political issue ahead of the Sept. 20 election, called Sunday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Canadian Armed Forces airlifted 175 vulnerable Afghans and 13 foreign nationals out of Kabul Thursday evening, and evacuations “are expected to continue on a regular basis as long as the security situation permits,” a statement said.

Canada has evacuated nearly 1,000 vulnerable Afghan nationals to date, the statement said.

Evacuation flights could include refugee families already living in Canada https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/afghan-activists-canada-frantic-get-families-out-after-years-waiting-2021 -08-18 whose resettlement has so far been delayed by bureaucracy, Mendicino said.

The independent tribunal that assesses asylum claims in Canada has agreed to fast-track Afghan asylum claims, a crucial step for asylum seekers to be reunited with their families, the minister said.

Separately, last week Canada committed to resettling 20,000 Afghan refugees who have already fled the country, and on Friday Mendicino said the government was keeping an “open mind” about potentially increasing that number.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Vancouver; Editing by Grant McCool)