Federal government looked into airlifts to bring 12,000 Afghans to Canada after Kabul fell

Nearly a year after it closed its embassy in Afghanistan following Kabul's fall to the Taliban in 2021, the federal government was trying to plan flights out of the country to bring in an estimated 12,000 Afghans it believed were «current and future» clients of Immigration Canada, CBC News has learned.

That information is contained in a memo written for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by the Privy Council Office and sent to him the week ending June 24, 2022. CBC News obtained the document through an access to information request.

«Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and Global Affairs Canada are working with the United States and United Arab Emirates to investigate options for facilitating air travel out of Afghanistan and then subsequent security screening prior to onward travel to Canada. Negotiations with both countries are ongoing,» the memo says.

When asked by CBC News how far the government got on planning airlifts with the U.S. and the UAE, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said that «movement out of Afghanistan continues to be very difficult and dangerous.

»That is why the Government of Canada continues to work with the UAE, the United States and other countries, as well as NGOs and Canadian partners, to support those who remain in Afghanistan and to find ways to maximize humanitarian assistance and immigration pathways to Canada," the department said.

In July 2021, when the Taliban had almost completed its takeover of Afghanistan, the Canadian government announced special immigration measures for former employees of the Canadian government and the Canadian Armed Forces, such as military interpreters, along with their loved ones.

IRCC says that, since then, it has brought 49,070 Afghan