The Canadian government reported this Friday that it is willing to host 20,000 Afghan refugees, within the framework of a new immigration program driven by the “growing humanitarian crisis in the region.”
The situation in Afghanistan is heartbreaking and Canada will not sit idly by. ” said the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marco Mendicino, during the presentation of the program.
The Canada program is aimed at particularly vulnerable people, as women leaders, human rights defenders, persecuted religious minorities, journalists and members of the LGBTQI community.
A Canadian forces flight landed in Toronto on Friday afternoon with “a group of Afghan citizens” who have helped the country in the past, Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said.
The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated that together with its allies, I was closely monitoring the situation of Canadians in Afghanistan. Ottawa has yet to comment on the future of the Canadian embassy.
In the early morning, many countries like Spain, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands announced the withdrawal of personnel from their respective embassies.
Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said on Twitter that Canada owes a debt to the Afghans and that the country will continue to make efforts to guarantee their security.
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