Ottawa won’t share details on Afghan refugees due to security reasons: Mendicino

OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino says the federal government won’t share details on the numbers and whereabouts of Afghan refugees who landed in Canada this week and those who will arrive later to protect the evacuees and the security of the operation.

Speaking to a virtual news conference Thursday, Mendicino says the government is dealing with urgent and volatile circumstances in Afghanistan as the international coalition forces led by the United States continue to withdraw from the country and the Taliban gain ground.

“Operational security and the safety of the Afghans and all Canadian staff are our paramount concern. Over the course of this operation, we will not be able to share the details of our work on the ground lest it give any advantage to those who would hurt the people we are seeking to help,” he added.

“This is only beginning and there are many challenging days ahead of us. We are seized with the urgency of the situation in Afghanistan and we continue to work around the clock here and over seas to help those who put themselves at great risk to help Canada.”

The first planeload of refugees who supported the Canadian military and diplomatic mission in Afghanistan arrived in Toronto Wednesday and more planes carrying Afghans who contributed to Canada’s mission are expected to arrive in the next days and weeks.

“They will be fully supported by the Government of Canada for one year, including income supports,” explained Mendicino.

Mendicino says the Afghan refugees will receive assistance from the government during their first year in Canada and that will include income support and language training.

The government last month announced a program to urgently resettle Afghans deemed to have been “integral” to the Canadian Armed Forces’ mission, including interpreters, cooks, drivers, cleaners, construction workers, security guards and embassy staff, as well as their spouses and children.

Former Afghan interpreters now living in Canada called on the federal government to expand the program to include their extended family members stuck in Afghanistan because they also face the risk of being targeted by the Taliban.

-with files from Cormac Mac Sweeney