Will the Government Ensure that NGOs Helping Afghans Aren’t Prosecuted Under Anti-Terrorism Laws?

On October 5, 2022 Senator Omidvar asked the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, if the government will ensure that NGOs are not prosecuted under Canadian anti-terrorism laws for helping vulnerable Afghans.

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Thank you, minister, for being with us today. My question is about Afghanistan. I asked this question last week of Senator Gold, your representative in the Senate, and I was informed that you were seized with the issue of providing a solution to the current conundrum of the anti-terrorism code and its impact on the delivery of humanitarian and other aid on the ground in Afghanistan because if Canadian non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, or Canadians did that, they stand in danger of being prosecuted under the Criminal Code.

I want to remind you that the U.S. and the U.K., the two most security-conscious nations in the world, have made exemptions to their anti-terrorism code to provide for the work of NGOs.

Can you kindly tell me when — and it is the “when” that is important, not so much as the how — are you going to table a solution?

Hon. David Lametti, P.C., M.P., Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada: Thank you, senator, for the question. It is an important question. It is a challenge that we have faced since Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, and — I repeat — it is a matter that we are seized with. It is a complex matter and we are searching for solutions.

Obviously, I can’t get in front of the process as it’s moving forward given the way our Parliament works, but I can assure you that we are taking the matter very seriously, and that we are examining all options. I can’t say more than that.