Canada’s minister of immigration says that the country’s current evacuation effort in Afghanistan, which to date totals the rescue of over a thousand refugees, is “nothing short of miraculous” given the current logistical obstacles and Canada’s lack of military presence within the country.
Marco Mendicino made the statement during an interview with The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson on Sunday, after being asked if he was worried that they would not be able to bring home everyone they had promised to by the time the Americans wrap up their evacuation efforts.
“The last time the Canadians had a military operation in Afghanistan was 10 years ago, our last armed forces member left seven years ago,” said Mendicino.
22:07 Global National: Aug. 21
Global National: Aug. 21
“And so to be able to in a few short weeks, get a military presence back on the ground, start flights running again, established an air bridge with our coalition forces, set up an entirely complex, dynamic process — to get people on those flights as quickly as possible has been nothing short of miraculous.”
The question for the immigration minister comes amid what some have described as a slow process to resettle approximately 21,000 people from Afghanistan. Government officials, including Mendicino’s own department, have faced heavy criticism over the last week on their handling of Canada’s evacuation and refugee resettling process.
The question of how many Afghan refugees the Canada will accept has been a moving target. Following is an update:
On Aug 13 the govt announced 20,000 refugees. Many thought these were new slots. Then it was clarified this was not 20,000 additional refugees.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that it would be “almost impossible” to get many people out of the country in the coming weeks due to the Taliban blocking access to Afghans wishing to leave.
“Unless the Taliban shift their posture significantly, which is something the international community and Canada are working on, it is going to be very, very difficult to get many people out,” Trudeau told reporters on Thursday.
The Liberal leader had also previously announced that two Canadian aircrafts would be making regular flights to and from Afghanistan to help evacuate people.
While Trudeau pointed to the Taliban as being the main hindrance to the evacuation process, some of those working on the ground there said that Canada’s lack of communication has presented a much bigger issue.
“The information that I’m hearing from other lawyers and from people who are contacting me from Afghanistan is that getting to the airport is not really the issue,” immigration lawyer Chantal Desloges told Global News earlier this week.
“The issue is that there’s just no information out there. The system is so opaque.”
According to several military and foreign affairs sources, the U.S. will most likely stay on the ground until the end of the month.
That timeline — less than two weeks from now — presents a tight challenge to Canadian officials organizing the evacuation effort, as well as to the thousands of Afghans awaiting rescue within the country.
Officials on Saturday confirmed the departure of a transport plane that carried 106 more Afghans to a safe third country. It was the second Canadian flight to leave Afghanistan since the country fell to the Taliban last weekend.
Adding this update from last night – the planes have been approved to take more than the 188 limit – when & how many determined by aircrew based on saving lives and safety. RCAF crews are not trained on air to air refuelling so have to carry more fuel and less weight than allies https://t.co/IzuvxeWVio
The first flight, which departed Thursday, had about 198 people on board, officials told Global News. In comparison, one of the earlier U.S. transport flights brought 823 people on the same exact plane — a C-17 Globemaster.
2:12 Chaos escalates at Kabul airport as Afghans try to flee Taliban
Chaos escalates at Kabul airport as Afghans try to flee Taliban
Sources and officials told Global News that there was a discussion on limiting the amount of people on the planes over seatbelt capabilities and issues with crews not being trained on air-to-air refueling. The planes have, however, been cleared to take on more than the 188 passenger limit, though aircrew would determine whether to surpass it on a case-by-case basis.
Mendicino pointed to Canada having already completed at least 10 flights carrying passengers from Afghanistan prior to the Taliban’s takeover, and said that he has already instructed his department to cut through “all the red tape,” opting to waive passport and COVID-19 test requirements.
“The bottom line is we’ll do whatever it takes to get as many people out as quickly as possible,” said Mendicino.
— With files from The Canadian Press, Rachel Gilmore and Mercedes Stephenson
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
