Speaking notes for the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, at a news conference to announce a new public policy to facilitate permanent residence for certain Afghan nationals in Kandahar province, Afghanistan

Ottawa, Ontario
September 15, 2009

As delivered

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Good afternoon. I’m here today to announce special measures to facilitate immigration to Canada for certain Afghans supporting the Canadian mission in Kandahar.

This initiative will allow certain Afghan nationals to come to Canada with their families as permanent residents after supporting our efforts in Kandahar province in Afghanistan.

The men and women who will be eligible for this initiative will have worked a minimum of 12 cumulative months in support of Canada’s mission in Kandahar and can demonstrate that they’re facing extraordinary risk of being killed or injured as a direct result of their work with Canadians in this important UN mission.

Their lives and those of their families may be threatened by insurgents or they may have suffered serious injury as they work with our government, with our troops, with our aid workers, and with our diplomats. Those who have been injured and can no longer work due to direct involvement in the Canadian mission in Kandahar province will also qualify for these measures, as will children and spouses of Afghan nationals killed in the line of duty.

We appreciate their service. We recognize the risks that they’ve taken and we want to ensure their safety by offering them special consideration if they choose to relocate here to Canada.

Afghan nationals and their immediate family members who qualify for these measures will undergo the necessary medical and security check. This government also wants to ensure that Afghans who are at risk while supporting Canada’s UN mission in Kandahar province can immigrate to Canada with their families. Our approach is in line with that of international partners such as the United States who have recognized the risks faced by local staff, in that case, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The success of the mission in Kandahar is vital to the security and development of Afghanistan and the Afghan people, and the assistance offered by Afghan nationals is an integral part of that success. The Government of Canada is introducing these measures because it’s the right thing to do for those who have put their lives, and sometimes the lives of their families, at risk for Canada, for Canadians and, indeed, for their fellow Afghans.

The program will sunset in 2011 to correspond with the end of the Canadian combat mission in Afghanistan. While supporting those at risk because of their assistance to the Canadian mission, we share with many Afghans a desire to rebuild Afghanistan and, thus, to facilitate the resettlement and retention of Afghan nationals in Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, the risk faced by certain individuals supporting the Canadian mission means that resettlement within Afghanistan is not a viable option for many of these people. At the same time, Canada remains committed to supporting a peaceful future for Afghanistan that maintains our commitment to the development of, and rebuilding in, Afghanistan through a wide range of development and capacity-building initiatives.

Our work in that country is far from complete but, without question, we have come some distance towards rebuilding and developing this nation due, in part, to the fearless support and commitment of those Afghan nationals who work with the Canadian mission. I know many journalists who have served in the region have got to know many of these brave people.

This government honours and acknowledges these men and women and looks forward to continuing to work with them towards a new future for their homeland.

Thank you.