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       Hundreds of people gather outside the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 17, 2021. Justin Trudeau is blaming Taliban checkpoints rather than government bureaucracy and delays for what many see as the slow pace of Canada’s effort to save former Afghan interpreters and their families.

       STR/The Associated Press

       Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says Canada will work tirelessly to evacuate people from strife-ridden Afghanistan “for as long as it is safe to do so.”

       Speaking at a news conference today, Sajjan said the challenging security conditions in Kabul are changing rapidly, even by the hour, but Canadian personnel are doing everything in their power to get people to safety.

       Sajjan was joined by Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau and Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef.

       The press conference comes after government officials confirmed Canadians had evacuated 106 more Afghans from the Kabul airport on Friday and brought them to a safe third country.

       Friday’s flight was Canada’s second out of Kabul since Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last weekend.

       The first left Thursday, with 175 fleeing Afghans and 13 foreign nationals on board.

       Officials say the Afghans on Thursday’s flight are bound for other countries, while the 106 on Friday’s are destined for settlement in Canada.

       They say all of the Afghan evacuees were interpreters and other workers who supported Canada’s military and diplomatic efforts in the country.

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