House sends bill that would unblock Afghan aid to Senate, which has concerns

The House of Commons' passage of Bill C-41 comes more than a year after many Canadian allies issued exemptions in their terrorism laws for aid workers.

Senators are concerned that a long-delayed Liberal bill aimed at unblocking Canadian aid in Afghanistan will bog down development groups in red tape and block access based on prejudicial bureaucracy.

“We have been creative within the confines of the law,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told the Senate human-rights committee Monday evening.

He 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.

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. Mobina Jaffer said Afghan-Canadians are particularly worried they will face increased scrutiny when seeking exemptions from terrorism laws.

“How do you define impartial? Because that’s not the community’s experience of how the various departments have defined impartial,” Jaffer told Mendicino.

“You know that that’s subjective, and the community is nervous.”