More than 300 people from Afghanistan arrived in Canada on Wednesday, bringing the total number of Afghans resettled since the Taliban takeover of that country to more than 30,000, the federal government said.
A flight from Pakistan arrived at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Wednesday morning.
Those on board included people who helped Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, family members of former interpreters and privately sponsored refugees.
After the Taliban swept to power in August 2021, Canada promised to resettle at least 40,000 Afghans through a number of special programs.
30,000 Afghan refugees now in Canada, but thousands wait in fear
Canada has welcomed 30,000 Afghan refugees, the majority of whom helped the Canadian Armed Forces, since the Taliban gained control in 2021, but thousands are still waiting in fear for their lives.
The federal government says it is now on track to reach the 40,000 target by the end of 2023, but it acknowledges in a news release that there will be significant challenges.
“You have to think about having multiple ways for Afghans to get to Canada, and to also support them to get to other countries safely,” Lauryn Oates, executive director of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, told CBC News on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about expanding that target Wednesday. He said only that the government would look at next steps once 40,000 people are resettled.
“We’re continuing to work on fulfilling those numbers and we’ll look to what we can and must do in the future in other ways,” Trudeau told a press conference in Winnipeg.
Canada is prioritizing the most vulnerable Afghans, “including woman leaders, human-rights defenders, persecuted and religious minorities, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals and journalists,” said a news release from the Immigration Department.
Luggage is loaded onto a bus at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport after refugees arrive from Afghanistan by plane. (CBC)
United Nations halts work in Afghanistan
The United Nations on Tuesday instructed employees to not report to the organization’s offices in Afghanistan and ordered an operational review. It made the moves in response to the Taliban restricting the rights of women and girls.
“Limited and calibrated exceptions” will be made for critical tasks, says a statement released by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
The Taliban banned women from working for the UN earlier this month. Despite earlier promises of a more moderate approach to power, the Taliban banned girls from attending school past Grade 6. Afghan women were also barred from working at national and international non-governmental organizations, disrupting the delivery of humanitarian aid.
“Through this ban, the Taliban de factoauthorities seek to force the United Nations into having to make an appalling choice between staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people and standing by the norms and principles we are duty-bound to uphold,” the UN statement said.
Up until last week, women working for the UN were not included in the NGO ban, but the UN warned that women working for the organization could be targeted.
What happens if the UN scales back operations in Afghanistan? | About That
After the Taliban barred Afghan women from working for the UN last week, the UN is reviewing its operations in the country. About That producer Lauren Bird discusses the impact this could have on humanitarian aid in that country with War Child Canada founder Dr. Samantha Nutt.
Proposed law aims to better support foreign aid programs
Canadian charities and other non-governmental organizations have largely suspended their activities in the country because of Criminal Code provisions that essentially prohibit them from operating there.
Those provisions have had a chilling effect on life-saving work, charities said. Would-be refugees struggled to leave Afghanistan because of limited access to support workers who provide help with translation, paperwork and safe travel arrangements.
“It is no exaggeration that lives hang in the balance,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told a press conference at the Canadian Red Cross headquarters in Ottawa last month.
“This bill meets the urgency of the moment, giving NGOs the flexibility they need to help those in need in Afghanistan.”
People exit an airplane from Pakistan at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on April 12, 2023. (CBC)
So far, 11,990 applications had been approved but only 9,875 Afghans had arrived in Canada by March 30, according to data published by the Immigration Department.
Another special program has been created to help the extended family members of former interpreters who are already living in Canada. The government says it aims to bring 5,000 people in through that stream, and 1,285 had arrived by the end of March.
Another 15,875 people who fall under government-assisted and privately sponsored refugee programs were in Canada by that time.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
