The Canadian government has said it is ready to welcome 20,000 Afghan refugees under a new immigration program, due to the "
emerging humanitarian crisis in the region
".
"
The situation in Afghanistan is heartbreaking and Canada will not stand idly by,
" Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marco Mendicino said when the program was announced.
Read also: America stunned by the scale of its defeat in Afghanistan
With this decision, Canada is targeting “
particularly vulnerable people
”, including women leaders, human rights defenders, persecuted religious minorities, journalists and members of the LGBTQI community.
A Canadian Armed Forces flight has already landed in Toronto on Friday afternoon with "
a group of Afghan nationals
" on board who have helped the country in the past, said Harjit Sajjan, the Minister of National Defense.
No embassy closure yet
The Trudeau government has also said it is monitoring "
very closely
" the situation of its nationals in Afghanistan by working with its allies, but no decision has yet been announced concerning a possible closure of the Canadian embassy.
Read also: Afghanistan: Paris renews its appeal to French nationals to leave the country
Earlier today, many countries including Spain, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands announced the withdrawal of staff from their respective embassies.
On Twitter, Marc Garneau, the Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that Canada has "
a debt to the Afghans
" and that the country will continue its efforts to ensure that they are safe.
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