Canada is prepared to continue sending military transports back to Kabul to carry on evacuating desperate Afghans in the coming weeks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today.
But that evacuation effort will depend in large part on the ability of U.S. and Canadian troops to secure the city’s airport — the fragile gateway to a tenuous air bridge for thousands of people fleeing the Taliban following the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of President Ashraf Ghani.
At least four Canadian evacuation flights have gotten out of the city over the last several weeks. They’ve brought out at least 807 Afghans and about 500 of them have since arrived in Canada.
Thousands remain stranded in the chaos and panic engulfing Kabul. Some former military interpreters on Canada’s waiting list went out to the airport on Sunday in a futile attempt to board aircraft, but were refused entry at the gate.
Trudeau said he was “absolutely horrified” by the heartbreaking scenes emerging from Kabul of despondent Afghans clinging to the wheels of a departing U.S. Air Force transport plane. He vowed to continue the evacuation effort alongside allies.
The Associated Press, quoting a high-level U.S. official, reported that U.S. Gen. Frank McKenzie, who is in charge of the U.S. Central Command, met face-to-face with Taliban leaders on Monday and warned them not to interfere with the massive evacuation effort.
WATCH: Trudeau says Canada ‘firmly condemns’ escalating violence in Afghanistan
Trudeau says ‘Canada firmly condemns the escalating violence’ in Afghanistan
8 hours ago
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau says over 500 Afghans have arrived in Canada from the war-torn country. 2:28
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in Washington that there are now 2,500 American troops at the airport.
Trudeau said Canadian special forces are working alongside the American soldiers to secure the airport. He said Canadian military transports are standing by to return when it’s clear the situation on the ground is secure.
“We have military still in Afghanistan right now,” the prime minister said. “We are staging out of Kuwait, including military aircraft. We’re looking very closely with our allies at what those next steps could be.”
A Taliban fighter sits on the back of a vehicle with a machine gun in front of the main gate leading to the Afghan presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. (Rahmat Gul/The Associated Press)
Canada has relied on a mixture of military and contracted airlift for its evacuation. With the security situation on the ground growing worse, however, contractors are increasingly reluctant to make the dangerous journey.
U.S. President Joe Biden — defending his decision to stick with the Trump administration’s withdrawal agreement — today said he has authorized additional troops to help with the evacuation, bringing the total American military presence to 6,000.
He said he wants to see the Kabul airport made able to handle both military and civilian air traffic.
“Over the coming days, we intend to transport out thousands of American citizens who have been living and working in Afghanistan,” Biden said. “We’ll also continue to support the safe departure of civilian personnel of our allies.”
The U.S. already has resettled as many as 2,000 Afghan who worked for the military and their families and Biden said his administration intends to continue the effort.
Trudeau said officials will continue processing the applications of Afghans who want to come to Canada at remote locations, now that the Canadian embassy in Kabul is closed.
‘Everybody’ underestimated the speed of Taliban takeover: Garneau
The Liberal government has faced withering criticism from veterans and opposition parties over the pace of its evacuation effort.
The Opposition Conservatives said some constituents, veterans and at least one non-governmental organization (NGO) have tried to get answers out of federal departments on the status of applications of individual Afghans without success.
“Despite repeated attempts to communicate with the Liberal government on what’s being done to save the lives of these individuals, they have yet to respond,”s aid Michelle Rempel Garner, Conservative candidate for Calgary Nose Hill, and Alex Ruff, Conservative candidate for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound in a joint statement.
“The lives of these Afghans are in danger, and they need an immediate response.”
The Conservatives blame the calling of the election, which has put the federal government in caretaker mode.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau defended the government’s handling of the crisis, saying events swiftly spiralled out of control.
“Let me just say that everybody, everybody, all intelligence communities, underestimated the speed with which the Taliban moved in to take over the control of the country and how quickly the Afghan military were ready to surrender,” Garneau told CBC’s Power & Politics Monday.
“I can understand the frustration, but this has happened very, very fast. And we have been trying to deal with that reality as quickly as possible, to get as many of the eligible Afghans out of the country as possible, and we will continue to do that.”
On the question of whether Canada would follow the example of the U.S. and refuse to recognize the Taliban government, Garneau was non-committal.
“It’s early days and we have to see what happens,” he said.
He added that the international community will have to see how the Taliban behave now that they’re back in power.
The United Nations Security Council has called for an immediate halt to hostilities in Afghanistan and the establishment of a new government “that is united, inclusive and representative” and also includes women.
It was the council’s first statement since the collapse of Afghanistan’s government. Ghani fled into exile on Sunday.
Trudeau said the Taliban needs to end the violence and restore order outside the airport, where tens of thousands of people are still encamped and waiting for their chance to escape.
“We need to see the Taliban step up and permit the evacuation of those who want to leave, and that is what we are expecting of them,” Trudeau said, noting Canada and dozens of other countries released a declaration Sunday night calling on the new regime to keep the borders open.
CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.
Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.
Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.
The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.
Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.
The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.
Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.
Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.
Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.
Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.
Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.
Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.
The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.
The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.
Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).
Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.
Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.
The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.
The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.
“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.
“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”
The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.
Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.
“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.
“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”
Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.
Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.
“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.
Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.
The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.
Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”
Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.
Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.
“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”
The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.
Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.
The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.
Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.
“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”
A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.
Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.
“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
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