Government says it's not responsible for danger faced by Afghan immigration applicants

Pushing back against a lawsuit filed by employees of a law firm in Afghanistan that did work forthe federal government, Ottawa is telling the Federal Court it has no direct responsibility for any danger the plaintiffs find themselves in now.

Twenty-four former employees of an Afghan law firmemployed by Ottawa prior to the Talibantakeover in 2021, together with a former security guard employed by the Canadian embassy in Kabul, launched a lawsuit last September over what they call unreasonable delaysin processing their immigration paperwork.

In its reply to the lawsuit, the federal government said the courtshould consider Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's heavy workload, its lack of responsibility for directly endangering lives and the fact it never promised the plaintiffs a concrete "time frame" for processing their paperwork.

The government also wrote that "there is no sufficient causal connection between the risks the Applicants face in Afghanistan and any conduct by any Canadian state actor."

"Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) does not have a duty to process the Applicants' applications for permanent residence within any specific time frame," lawyers Martin Anderson, Amy King and Aida Kalaj wrote on behalf of the Immigration Department and Global Affairs Canadain a response posted publicly by the Federal Court of Canada.

The plaintiffs who say they are in constantdanger of Taliban reprisalsare asking for expedited decisions on their applications. All but one arestill waiting for answers on whether they will be able to move to Canada.

Their lawyer, Sujit Choudhry, said it's nowup to Federal Court to decide whether to grant leave for their caseto proceed.

In its court filing, the federal government said that in a note signed by Immigration Minister Sean Fraser on Sept. 20, 2022it recognized that employees of the law firm, Shajjan and Associates, are among those "operationally active in Afghanistan" who "have direct knowledge" of dangers faced by individuals there.

Choudhry and Maureen Silcoff, co-counsel for the plaintiffs, said most of their clients only started receiving invitations to apply for theSpecial Immigration Measures (SIM) program the second step in a process meant to fast-track immigration to Canada for Afghans who worked forthe federal government, along with their loved ones after the lawsuit was initiated last September.

"The very premise of the policy is that the members of Shajjan and Associates are at risk,"said Choudhry, one of two lawyers representing the 25 Afghans. "That risk didn't disappear because of the fall of the government of Afghanistan. In fact, it's the fall of the government of Afghanistan that put them at risk.

"There's been no progress on their files and they remain in limbo."

In its court filing, the government contended thatthe waiting period for the applicants only started in October and November of last year, and its "public duty to act only arises when applicants submit a complete application."

"That duty did not arise in August and September 2021 when [the applicants] expressed an interest in the SIM program by contacting Global Affairs Canada and IRCC via email and web form," the government argued, adding thatthe online application form explicitly said that "submitting this form does not mean you've applied for something."

Hunted by the Taliban

In affidavits filed with the court, most of the plaintiffs said they've been in hiding since the summer of 2021. Most saidtheir homes had been searched by the Taliban, two said they had been interrogated by the regime and one reported being kidnapped and tortured for two months.

One of the applicants, identified only as HH in court documents, spoke to CBC News from a remote location in Afghanistan. He said he had escaped temporarily to Iran to avoid the clutches of the Talibanand returnedhome once tensions flared up in Iran.

Choudhrysaid his clients live in a climate of fear.

"They have no idea of next steps, they have no idea of what they need to do to move these steps forward," he said."They're afraid and they want thisto be over."

The IRCCalso wrote thatthe crisis brought on by the Taliban takeover forced it to create a number of new programs and policies in a hurry, including the policy recognizing Shajjan and Associates in September 2022.

"The exceptional circumstances [...] in response to an evolving crisis should be considered in this case," it said.

The department said it never made any specific promise to process applications within a set time period.

"The Applicants have no legitimate expectation that their applications would be processed within a specific timeframe," government lawyers wrote.

"General statements in the media [by government] that Canada was and is taking timely and decisive action or concerning the urgency of the situation do not constitute clear, unambiguous and unqualified representations required to give rise to a legitimate expectation."

On Wednesday, Fraser told reporters that his department has been working with representatives of Shajjan and Associates "to find a solution for those people who were providing key services to the Government of Canada."