In quarantine hotels, Afghan refugees say they lack basics. ‘We don’t have enough clothes’
Global News
Ottawa is committed to resettling 40,000 Afghan refugees, but those in Canada's quarantine hotels right now say they're lacking essentials as they await their paperwork.
In a hotel parking lot not far from Toronto’s main international airport, several Afghan refugees dig through boxes and bags of donated clothes in the trunk of a car.
They’re looking for winter coats and shoes that might fit their children, and seasonally appropriate clothing for themselves. Many don’t have money to spare after arriving in Canada, and support payments from the federal government haven’t kicked in yet.
A settlement agency has been tasked with looking after them while they wait to be moved into more permanent housing but the refugees say many of their basic needs aren’t being adequately addressed.
“We don’t have enough clothes, enough boots,” says Sardar Khan Shinwari, who has been living in a hotel room with his wife and four children since mid-October.
“Right now my boots, they are size 11, and I wear size eight … I got them second-hand.”
Shinwari is among some 770 Afghan refugees currently housed in two hotels near the airport.
His family has completed the quarantine required by pandemic rules but they remain at the hotel, dependent on the settlement agency, as they wait for the federal government to process their applications and issue their permanent residency cards.
Government workers provided some clothing at the airport, but it was ill-fitting, Shinwari says. Living in the hotel for an extended period has also meant the family has no access to laundry facilities or their own kitchen, and there are no nearby grocery stores or easily accessible playgrounds for the children, he says.
U.S. intelligence, military and law enforcement officials unanimously agreed that an intelligence assessment doubting a foreign role in the 'Havana syndrome' should be withdrawn.
The federal Conservatives accuse the government of being too secretive about the war and point out that Canada's allies are sharing such information openly at daily briefings.
Canada is amongst several nations who 'condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf.'
Gas prices in Canada have been climbing sharply since the Iran war began, but how much higher they could go is unclear as consumers struggle with the higher cost of living.
The Oscar-winning actor has denied all allegations against him and maintains that the incidents raised in the lawsuits either did not happen or were consensual.
European leaders have deflected entreaties from U.S. President Donald Trump to send military assets to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed last week in a plane crash over friendly territory in western Iraq, supporting operations against Iran.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified that the regime remains intact and Tehran and its proxies remain capable of attacking U.S. and allies' interests.
James 'Jimmy' Gracey was reported missing after he didn't return to the short-term rental where he was staying with friends during spring break.
The U.K. Health Security Agency described the event as 'rapidly evolving' and warned of the potential for further cases.
U.S. benchmark crude fell US$1.24 to US$94.53 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose to US$104.17 per barrel. That's down from more than US$106 on Monday.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukraine's allies not to forget about his country, and suggested the U.S. and others should make use of Ukraine's anti-drone technology during the war.
Trump’s visit to China is seen as an opportunity to build on a fragile trade truce, but it has become tangled in his effort to find an endgame to the war in Iran.