Harper government defends its treatment of Afghan translators

In what seems to be an increasingly common occurrence, a member of the Harper government has written a 'letter to the editor' as a means to defend his ministry against public criticism.

This time the letter was written by Citizenship and Immigration minister Jason Kenney and the issue he wrote about is the government's treatment of Afghan interpreters.

In 2009 the Harper government announced they would offer 450 Afghan interpreters, whose lives were in danger as a result of working with Canadian soldiers in Kandahar, an opportunity to immigrate to Canada.

In July, however, the Toronto Star reported only 60 interpreters had been accepted and average application processing times have been well north of two years. Moreover, two out of every three Afghan translators who have applied under the program have actually had their applications denied.

Earlier this week the Toronto Star wrote another column on the issue, and questioned the government's decision to reject 23 year old Sayed Shah Sharifi's immigration petition.

"How could a young man whose extraordinary bravery under fire, in service to Canadian troops, who was repeatedly praised for his brave leadership and integrity in letters of recommendation from several senior military officers and officials, be turned away from Canada's doors," columnist Paul Watson wrote noting Sharifi's claims that the Taliban are out to kill him.

In an op-ed column to the paper on Wednesday, Kenney accused the Star of "repeatedly" misleading their readers "about this program and specific applications received under it."

"The program I established was designed to help those who face specific, individualized threats to their lives as a direct result of having worked with Canadian troops as translators," Kenney wrote.

"The Government has engaged highly-trained civil servants, including senior military personnel, to make decisions about whether an applicant faces such a specific and direct threat. The Government does not make decisions about individual cases based on political considerations. Nor does the editorial board of the Toronto Star, which does not have the benefit of all the relevant facts, get to decide who qualifies for government programs.

"We leave such decisions to highly-trained and competent civil servants."