Ex-Afghan interpreter praised by top soldier is still in the dark about his immigration status

Saturday will mark a year since Ottawa created a specialprogramto prioritize immigration applicationsfrom Afghans who worked with the Canadian Armed Forces andthe Canadian government, along withtheir family members.

One former interpreter whose work earned him a letter of appreciation from Canada's current chief of the defence staff, Gen.Wayne Eyre has been waiting nearly as long to find out if he qualifies.

"Sometimes [Eyre] would put his hand on my shoulder, say, 'Hey, nice, you've been doing a very good job for us,'" the interpreter told CBC Newsfrom Islamabad, Pakistan, where he now lives.

CBC News is withholdinghis identity to protect him from the Taliban, which has issued a warrant for his arrest.

His family still lives in Afghanistan. He said he thoughtinitially that they would be safe as long as he leftthem and went into hiding.

"I do regret [doing that]," hesaid, adding he switched hiding places in Afghanistan roughly15 times before finally crossing the border into Pakistan in May.

His letter from Eyreis dated August 6, 2007, when Eyre was a lieutenant-colonel serving in Kandahar. In it, Eyrepraised the interpreter for his "prompt and courteous" service and saidhis work in training others ensured"highly skilled translators for both operations and garrisons duties" were ready to be deployed.

The interpreter included Eyre'sletter in his queries to Global Affairs Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Hesent the first of thosemessages in August of last year.

"All I got was an automated reply," he said.

CBC News has seen copies of 12 notes the former interpreter subsequently sentto the government, none of which received detailed responses.

And the Taliban continues to hunt for him, he said.

"The Taliban came to my house. They searched my house twice."

Opposition pushes for program extension

In a statement sent last week to CBC News, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser's office confirmed the 18,000 spots in the special immigration measures program have been filled throughroughly15,000 applications and referrals forwarded by Global Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defence.

It's not clear whether applicantswho have received no replies to their queries count among those 18,000 orhave been excluded.

"What happened to all those people who sent in their email? Are they going to be left behind?" saidNDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan.

"As the clock continues to tick, people's lives are in danger, every minute, every second of the day."

She again called on the government to expand the program to allow more Afghans into the country.

Conservative immigration critic Jasraj Singh Hallan echoed that argumentat a news conference Thursday.

"Canada needs to get our allies to safetybecause it is the right thing to do," Hallan said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser both side-stepped the question whenasked about extending the program Thursday.

WATCH: Trudeau is questioned about closure of special Afghan immigration program

Trudeau responds to questions about closure of Ottawa's special Afghan immigration program

2 years ago

Duration 1:22

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government remains committed to resettling Afghan refugees but added the situation on the ground is complicated right now.

Trudeau pointed out thathundreds of thousands of people want to leave Afghanistan.

"We're going to have to figure out how to step up and support people who remain in Afghanistan with humanitarian support, with investments with the global community," he said.

"At every step of the way, the challenges in Afghanistan are much greater than in other situations where we've been involved in resettlement," Fraser said, citing the uncooperative nature of the Taliban government, which has been listed as a terrorist entity by Canada and many other Western countries.

CBC News asked for an interview with Gen.Eyre about the interpreter. His office said he was unavailable but offered a written statement.

"There were many interpreters and other local staff (in the hundreds) employed by or associated with the multinational units General Eyre commanded during his two tours in Afghanistan," says the statement, adding that he signed a lot of certificates and letters based on the recommendations of Canadian or coalition supervisors.

The statement says Gen. Eyre"sympathizes with the plight of all Afghans, and is unfortunately not in a position to comment or intervene on any individual case," given his legal and ethical obligations under the Conflict of Interest Act as chief of the defence staff.

About 7,205 Afghans have arrived in Canada under the special immigration measureso far.

The government has set a goal of bringing 40,000 Afghans to Canada. Ithas resettled 16,645 Afghans to date.