Feds promising plan to help Afghan interpreters

No timeline given for effort to resettle former aides as Taliban threat grows

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino insisted Friday that the federal government is working on a plan to help dozens of Afghans who are facing Taliban arrest or worse for having worked with Canada, but he stopped short of saying when that plan will become reality.

The federal government is under mounting pressure to help dozens of former interpreters, translators and cultural advisers who aided the Canadian military and development efforts during the war in Afghanistan.

Canadian veterans in particular have been sounding the alarm with growing concern, noting the Taliban's rapid gains over the past couple of weeks after the sudden withdrawal of most U.S. forces from the country.

Those veterans say the risk of torture or death that their former colleagues and their families are facing grows every day they remain in the country, especially in the southern province of Kandahar.

Mendicino, in response to a reporter's question while announcing a new refugee program to help people threatened for defending human rights, acknowledged the “tremendous urgency” of the situation in Afghanistan.

“I know even in the last number of weeks that the situation has gotten worse, that lives are on the line,” he said. “Everybody within government is doing everything in our power to try and put the final strokes to this plan so we can put (it) into action.”

Immigration officials are currently working with the Canadian military and Global Affairs Canada to identify Afghans who provided “essential support” to Canada, he added, including translators, interpreters and people who worked at the embassy in Kabul.

Yet Mendicino did not give a timeline for when help would actually arrive.

“The most important thing I want to convey with regards to this operation is that we know that Afghans put their own lives at risk by helping the Canadian effort in the war there, and we want to do right by them,” he said. “We hope to have more to say about that in the very near future.”

News that work is underway was greeted with cautious optimism from retired lieutenant-general Guy Thibault, chair of the Conference of Defence Associations.

While recognizing the challenge of screening and processing visas for those who helped Canada's war effort, Thibault pointed out that the federal government was able to screen and resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees in 100 days more than five years ago.

“Our shared sacrifices must not be forgotten nor should we forget those who came to our aid during this dangerous mission,” Thibault said in a statement.

“They were friends, allies and heroes. They deserve our greatest respect for the risks they took. Sheltering them from immediate danger is the least we can do. We urge the prime minister and his government to act swiftly and decisively.”

Three retired major-generals who previously commanded Canadian forces in Afghanistan have said there are 115 people in Afghanistan who need help.

“If we ever want to go into a conflict again, this needs to happen ... they're saying: `Canada is going to turn its back on us if we put our necks out,” said retired corporal Tim Laidler, who served in Afghanistan in 2008.