Trudeau: "Almost impossible" to evacuate as many Afghans as Canada wants

On August 19th, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to reporters about Canada's evacuation efforts in Afghanistan. Mr. Trudeau, who is running for re-election, told reporters that the Taliban are complicating matters by blocking access to the airport in Kabul.

The PM said, “Unless the Taliban shift their posture significantly, which is something the international community and Canada are working on, it is going to be very, very difficult to get many people out. We will get some, certainly, but to get many people out, as many as we’d want, is going to be almost impossible in the coming weeks.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a firm statement on August the 17th regarding the Taliban regime. Trudeau stated that Canada will not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government in Afghanistan.

Trudeau's statement came as a surprise to some. Just the day before, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau said on the CBC's 'Power & Politics' that the Canadian federal government would be taking a "wait and see" approach.

However, on Tuesday, when pressed to respond, Canada's prime minister made a statement regarding the issue at a campaign event in Markham, Ontario. The Liberal leader said, "They have taken over and replaced the duly elected, democratic government by force."

Trudeau commented that the last time the Taliban regime was in power, the Canadian federal government at that time did not recognize or support their leadership in Afghanistan.

(Pictured: Afghanistan in 1996.)

Canada considers the Taliban a terrorist organization, a status that most likely will not change in the near future.

(Pictured: Protestors at Celebration Square in Mississauga on Sunday, August 15th.)

According to statements made to the press by Prime Minister Trudeau, the main focus of the federal government at this time will be to continue to safely evacuate Afghans who have aided the Canadian military along with federal agencies over the years.

However, at this time, many of those Afghans are still trapped in Kabul. Despite a special immigration program being implemented, many complain they have not been given the clearance needed to take the high-risk trip to the airport in Kabul.

Along with the immigration program set up by the Canadian government for Afghans that are still trapped in their war-stricken homeland, the government has also created a separate plan of action to assist refugees looking to settle who have already escaped the country. The Canadian government has promised to resettle up to 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan.

However, evacuating individuals from Kabul has not been easy as the Taliban began blocking Afghans from reaching the airport over the past week.

On Tuesday the 17th, PM Trudeau said, "The Taliban need to ensure free access to people to get to the airport. We will continue to work with our international partners to put pressure on them to do just that and secure a future for people in Afghanistan."

Thankfully, the efforts of Western forces have secured the airport once more. On Thursday the 18th, Global News Canada reported that Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan stated that two Canadian planes are prepared to commence regular flights into the city of Kabul to assist in the international effort to evacuate those citizens and civilians fleeing the Taliban regime's takeover of Afghanistan.

(Photo: By Ppereira6 - Own work)

“Canadian Armed Forces flights to and from Hamid Karzai International Airport will resume shortly under Op AEGIS,” tweeted Minister Harjit Sajjan. According to Global News, this development results from a deal made by Canada and the U.S. to permit Canadian aircraft to fly in and out of the city.

The Defence Minister also shared a Tweet on Wednesday the 18th, assuring Canadians that he was doing everything possible to assist Afghans trapped in Kabul. "Along with @MarcoMendicino and @MarcGarneau, I am continuing to work with our @CanadianForces to help bring Afghan nationals who supported Canada in Afghanistan to safety. This is my absolute priority, and we are in constant contact with our allies on this urgent matter."

(Photo: Twitter@HarjitSajjan)

However, many Afghan-Canadians feel that the Canadian government needs to step up its efforts. Khalidha Nasiri is the executive director of the Afghan Youth Engagement and Development Initiative (AYEDI), Nasiri feels that the government should be doing more.

(Photo: twitter@khalidhanasiri)

She and other Afghan-Canadians have plans to create a campaign to ask the Canadian government to accept more Afghan refugees. In an interview with CBC News in Toronto on Monday, Nasiri said that she hoped that the Canadian government would "expand the resettlement program, provide immediate humanitarian aid, engage in diplomacy through international forums and advocate for the rights of girls, women, ethnic and religious minorities."

As the Canadian Embassy in Afghanistan closed over the weekend due to the advance of the Taliban regime, many feel as if the Canadian government abandoned those that have helped the Canadian government for years.

(Pictured: the entrance to the Canadian Embassy in Kabul following its evacuation.)

Andrew Rusk from the organization Not Left Behind, which aims to assist Afghan workers who assisted Canadian military operations in resettling in Canada, feels strongly that the Canadian government has not done enough.

(Photo: twitter@andrewrusk)

In an interview with The Toronto Star, Rusk said, “This weekend Canada closed its embassy, and the Taliban entered Kabul, effectively halting the government’s extraction efforts.”

Andrew Rusk went on to say that Canada has essentially done too little too late to assist those stuck in Afghanistan. “Our slow and ineffective response has barely scratched the surface in helping those that helped us. As our government pursues a majority, they’ve turned their back on both Afghanistan and our veteran community.”

The Afghan-Canadian Interpreters, a group that advocates for those who assisted the Canadian military in Canada to be extracted from Afghanistan, criticize the government for creating far too much bureaucracy for those in desperate need of evacuation.

The situation in Afghanistan and, in particular, in Kabul is undoubtedly desperate. Despite the Taliban's claims that the group doesn't wish to make "internal or external enemies," everyone is desperate to leave Afghanistan for fear of living under the new Taliban regime's extreme rules. It seems that all Western countries have an obligation to assist those in need of evacuation; the sooner, the better.

Images of despair and chaos in Kabul after the Taliban takeover