Canadian politicians were working to bring Mursal Nabizada, a woman who used to serve as a Member of Parliament in Afghanistan before the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, to this country before she was killed this weekend.
The exact circumstances of Nabizada’s death are unclear, but police in Kabul said she and her bodyguard were killed by unknown gunmen, and her brother injured, all in an attack that took place at her home overnight on Saturday.
“It was devastating news and very tragic,” said Alex Ruff, the Conservative MP for Bruce-Grey-Owen-Sound, Ont., one of six Canadian MPs who have been collaborating behind the scenes since last October to fast-track immigration for Nabizada and eight other female Afghan MPs who remained in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover of the country nearly two years ago.
“We came together as an all-party group to advocate for their really urgent movement to safety and to come to Canada,” said Ruff, a military veteran who served in Afghanistan himself.
The group also includes Green Party of Canada co-leader Elizabeth May, the Bloc Québécois’ Alexis-Brunelle Duceppe, the NDP’s Heather McPherson, and Liberals Marcus Powlowski and Leah Taylor Roy.
“We cannot lose another woman that is on that list. We cannot afford that. We have a responsibility,” said Brunelle-Duceppe. “This government is supposedly a feminist government. Well, it has to prove it.”
Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe speaks during Question Period in February 2021. He is one of six Canadian MPs urging the federal government to bring other female MPs from Afghanistan to Canada. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Slain MP had ‘bright spark,’ activist says
Corey Levine, a human-rights activist who met Nabizada while posted in Afghanistan with the United Nations from November 2020 to June 2021, said she had a “bright spark to her.”
Levine was in Afghanistan in June 2022 as well. She said she had managed to convince the Canadian MPs of different political stripes to work together to bring Nabizada and the eight other female politicians to Canada from Afghanistan.
“Their lives had gone from being top of Afghan society as being public figures representing their constituents in Parliament to going into hiding.”
Women in Afghanistan facing bleak reality after latest Taliban restrictions
Women in Afghanistan are struggling to cope under the latest rules introduced by the Taliban government that restrict women’s freedom, including bans on attending school and even a ban on women aid workers.
She said that initially, Nabizada had wanted to stay in Afghanistan, but Levine convinced the former MP that moving to Canada was safer.
“She was ready to leave,” said Levine, who found out about Nabizada’s killing Saturday night through a group chat with the other female MPs.
“I ended up staying up all night texting with the women,” she said. “We were just trying to process the loss, what it meant for them … just trying to be there for each other.”
Government willing to work with all parties
CBC reached out to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser for an interview, but the federal government did not make him available.
In a statement issued jointly by his office and that of Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Ottawa condemned Nabizada’s murder, and called for “the perpetrators of this horrific crime to be brought to justice.”
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser speaks at a news conference in Ottawa in October 2021. In a statement from his office and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Ottawa condemned Nabizada’s murder. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
The federal government also said it will continue to do everything it can to welcome Afghans.
“This includes working with Members of Parliament from all parties to advance our nation’s efforts, and specifically, bring more women leaders to Canada,” said the statement, which was short on particulars about this group of female Afghan MPs.
But Taylor Roy, one of the two governing caucus Liberals among the Canadian Parliamentarians trying to bring the women to Canada, suggested there are a number of challenges and that it’s not a simple matter of putting the women on a plane leaving Afghanistan.
“There’s so many people applying through these [immigration] programs, and one of the problems is that these women are still in Afghanistan,” Taylor Roy said. “And of course there’s great danger in moving them to another country.”
“They have to have assurance that they have somewhere to go because we know neighbouring countries have been returning refugees back to Afghanistan. If this were to happen to any of them, obviously they would be in the hands of the Taliban.”
In late December, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada told CBC News it had received word from the government of Pakistan that it would not force paperless Afghan migrants to return to Afghanistan.
The federal government has pledged to bring 40,000 Afghan refugees to Canada. Since August 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says that 27,345 Afghans have arrived here under various programs.
Afghan-Canadian documents dismantling of women’s rights under Taliban
The Taliban-run Afghan higher education ministry says female students would not be allowed access to the country’s universities until further notice. Frozan Rahmani, an Afghan-Canadian journalist, has been documenting the dismantling of women’s rights in the country since the Taliban took control of Kabul in the summer of 2021.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
