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OTTAWA – The conservative opposition is calling on the liberal government to grant urgent funds to Kabul safe houses that provide refuge for 1,700 Afghan interpreters and their families.
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On Friday, those safe houses will close because the money that keeps them open will run out.
That could leave its occupants at the mercy of Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers, who returned to power this summer.
Conservative MP James Bezan says the Trudeau government has been absent from action and must step in and fill the spending gap.
The government has not directly funded the safe houses, which were seen as a temporary measure to remove vulnerable Afghans from the country following the return to power of the Taliban in mid-August.
Veterans groups previously raised about $ 2 million in private donations and now say they will need an additional $ 5 million to keep the safe house open after Friday.
“Not only did Justin Trudeau fail to get Canadians, interpreters, support staff and their families out of Afghanistan when the country fell to the Taliban, he is now refusing to fund their safe houses,” Bezan said in a written statement. .
“These people supported our military heroes in Afghanistan and the least we can do is help make sure they are safe.”
Global Affairs Canada says little about the government’s efforts to support safe houses, citing security considerations.
He has said he is working with the Veterans and Journalists for Human Rights Transition Network to protect vulnerable people in Afghanistan, including human rights defenders and former interpreters for the Canadian Armed Forces.
Reference-torontosun.com