Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has stopped subsidizing temporary accommodations in Pakistan. This change affects people applying through a special immigration program for Afghans who worked for the Canadian government or armed forces. The federal government covered the cost of subsidized accommodations while applicants waited for their applications to process.
It introduced special measures for Afghans trying to move to Canada in summer 2021. This followed the Afghan Interim Government sweeping to power and forcing many former employees of western governments into hiding.
The federal government began covering the cost of accommodations for Afghans who crossed into Pakistan. This support was provided while they waited for their applications to process.
“Providing subsidized accommodations in Pakistan for people under the Afghan Resettlement Initiative was an exceptional temporary measure. Subsidized accommodations were needed due to the time it took to process the large volume of applications, as well as operational challenges in Pakistan,” IRCC told CBC News in a media statement.
The department also said it spent $21.8 million on applicants’ subsidized accommodations in 2022-2023, and another $21 million in 2023-2024.
IRCC said it will continue paying shelter costs for Afghans already in the processing pipeline. However, it has informed anyone who started an application after June 30 that they will not have access to subsidized accommodation. This rule applies unless they are considered “emergency and vulnerable cases.”
Lawyer, migrant question decision to cut coverage
Zool Suleman, a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer, commented on the decision to end the shelter subsidy. He said this decision could leave some Afghan applicants with nowhere to turn.
“While I appreciate the government should be prudent in how they’re spending their money, what we don’t want is a situation where we made a promise as a country to an individual, or a family, who have provided services to the Canadian government, and then out of some kind of over-caution on the budgetary side they’re depriving a family of housing and food,” he said.
“I would urge the government to err on the side of caution in terms of not providing services, and obviously speed up the program.”
When asked about the amount of money Ottawa has spent on sheltering Afghan applicants, Suleman responded. He said it’s about doing right by people who made sacrifices for Canada.
“Canadians need to understand it’s a large group of people who very much helped us when we needed it,” he said.
One applicant has been waiting in Islamabad since October 2021 to learn if he and his family will be accepted. He told CBC News that the government has handled the process inefficiently.
Former CAF Contractor Criticizes IRCC Process and Safety Conditions
“There was a better way of doing that,” said Mohammad Younas Nasimi, a former CAF military contractor who worked with a bomb detection crew. “There are families that have received rejection from the IRCC [after years].
“How come, first of all, you took that long and kept them and spent that much money on them, and then let them go? You just left them … nowhere.”
Nasimi also said his subsidized shelter was less than ideal.
He said that on July 25, a group of five guests cornered him and roughed him up. This incident occurred at the hotel where he stayed in Islamabad.
Nasimi said the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN agency that works with governments around the world on resettlement, moved him to another hotel for his safety but did not question any of the other guests.
He said that a group of five guests punched him twice in the ear, and he has experienced hearing difficulties ever since. Nasimi added that the IOM and the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad never sent a health care practitioner to examine him.
He said he moved his wife and six children to another location because he does not feel they would be safe staying with him.
Migrants’ group threatens hunger strike
Meanwhile, migrants who held a demonstration last Thursday in Islamabad against what they call an extremely slow immigration process said in a media statement they could stage a hunger strike if they don’t see improvements soon.
“We call upon the Canadian government, including the Honourable Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, to urgently review our applications and address the ongoing delays and refusals,” the migrants’ statement said.
“Despite the significant financial support provided by the Canadian government, our cases remain unresolved. Why has Canadian taxpayer money been used to support us for over three years if our eligibility remains in question?”
In its statement to CBC, the IRCC said most Afghans waiting in Pakistan “are in the final stages of processing.”
The department said “processing times vary depending on the details of each application. Timelines may be longer if IRCC has to wait for additional information to complete background checks and medical examinations.”
Citing operational security, the department refused to say how many Afghan migrant applicants are currently in Pakistan, waiting for approval.
It said roughly 53,600 Afghans have come to Canada since August 2021.
This news is sourced from [CBC News] and is for informational purposes only.
