MONTREAL —
An Afghan man living in hiding for months has been able to escape Afghanistan with his family and now awaits a flight to Canada.
Reza Kateb had spent time working with the Canadian embassy to promote gender equality in Afghanistan and helped implement the Afghan elections, ultimately winning an award from Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan in 2016.
But when the Taliban took over the capital city of Kabul in late August, Kateb and his family had to flee out of fear for Taliban retribution for his involvement with Canada’s government.
“I was hiding,” Kateb told CTV News. “I was not at my house, because that was not an option for me.”
At one point during the height of chaos in Afghanistan, Kateb narrowly escaped an explosion near the Kabul airport.
“The Canadian government sent me a message to avoid the area, so we avoided, and we are alive today,” he said.
Now two months later, Kateb, his wife and his three children — aged 12, eight and four — have successfully crossed the Afghan border into Pakistan, where they now await travel into Canada.
“I want a bright future for my children,” he said. “It’s very unfortunate that over the course of four decades, I never experienced peaceful life and sustainable life in Afghanistan. So, I want to be part of a peaceful life in Canada, if it is possible.”
Kateb and his family were assisted by U.S.-based humanitarian group Afghanistan Transit Initiative and were able to leave the country thanks to the Canada-based Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), as well as a CTV News journalist.
“I cannot find words to tell them, they helped me and family and many other families and friends,” he said.
Kateb also wanted to thank “kind people around the globe” who helped bring his family to safety either through fundraising or other support measures.
Getting across the border has not been easy. Kateb said he and his family tried many times to make the proper arrangements, but each time it fell through.
Still, Kateb never gave up hope, mainly because he had what few other Afghans have to help him cross the border: a passport.
“Many intimate members of my family do not have passports, so they are waiting for the passports,” he said. “I know that hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people have a [sic] visa, but are waiting for a passport.”
Kateb hopes to settle in Toronto once he arrives in Canada, as he has about 10 friends in the city and has already been promised a job in the area.
“They have a peaceful and satisfied life in Canada, so they encouraged me to come,” he said.
Kateb also has a long-term goal of achieving his PhD from a Canadian university.
Canada has committed to resettling 40,000 Afghans into Canada, though it’s unclear how many have since arrived. The government has previously cited privacy concerns for withholding that information.
The government has also committed $50 million to international organizations helping the Afghan people.
There are an estimated 1,700 men, women and children destined for Canada currently stuck in safe houses across Afghanistan.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
