The Canadian federal government is facing legal action from another Canadian-Afghan, who has alleged discrimination against Afghan refugees and is seeking to have their case combined with two existing lawsuits. These legal actions claim that Canada treated Afghan refugees differently from Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.
The most recent lawsuit was filed by a former Canadian language and culture adviser who served with NATO in Afghanistan at the end of July. In this suit, the plaintiff alleges that the government has not allowed his family in Afghanistan to seek refuge in Canada.
This case follows a lawsuit filed in May by two other former language and culture advisers who had served in the Canadian military. They similarly accused the government of denying their families’ eligibility for programs aimed at bringing Afghan refugees to Canada.
All of these cases assert that the Canadian government provided advantages to Ukrainians that were not extended to Afghan nationals seeking to escape the Taliban takeover in 2021. Canada had allowed an unlimited number of Ukrainians and their family members to enter the country on an emergency visa, which granted them the opportunity to work and study in Canada for three years while escaping the Russian invasion of their home country.
As of now, the government has not submitted a defense to the applications from the Canadian advisers. In a similar case previously presented before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, the government argued that unique crises necessitate unique responses.
These lawsuits highlight the ongoing legal challenges and debates surrounding the treatment of refugees from different regions and crises, raising questions about equal treatment and discrimination in Canada’s refugee admission policies. The request to combine these cases suggests a coordinated effort to address these concerns and seek a resolution through the legal system.