House sends bill that would unblock Afghan aid to Senate, which has concerns
“We have been creative within the confines of the law,” Public Safety MinisterHe was speaking hours after the House passed Bill C-41, which comes more than a year after many Canadian allies issued exemptions in their terrorism laws for aid workers.
The Criminal Code currently bars Canadian aid workers from paying taxes for any labour or goods in Afghanistan, as doing so could lead to prosecution for financially supporting the governing Taliban, which Ottawa designates as a terrorist group.Amending of Criminal Code needed to give aid groups operating in Afghanistan ‘certainty they need’: Lametti
Bill C-41 would allow development workers, such as those building schools, to apply for exemptions to do their work. Following amendments from the Conservatives and the NDP, it would also enact a blanket exemption for humanitarian workers providing life-saving aid in response to emergencies.Yet senators raised concerns to Mendicino about how the bill will actually be enforced, such as how bureaucrats will weigh applications for waivers. Sen.
“How do you define impartial? Because that’s not the community’s experience of how the various departments have defined impartial,” Jaffer told Mendicino.Afghanistan faces humanitarian crisis as foreign aid remains frozen Some senators pressed Mendicino for a rough timeline on how long it will take applications to be processed, after aid groups sought a service standard from the government, while acknowledging these timelines might vary based on the breadth of the work.
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