OTTAWA — A Manitoba senator who denies forging travel documents says several cabinet ministers knew of her decision to send letters to Afghans to help them escape when the Taliban took over the country, and no one knew about her decision told him to stop.

The Globe and Mail reports that 150 Afghans who received letters from Senator Marilou McPhedran are now stuck in an Albanian hotel room, unable to come to Canada as refugees because the government believes their documents are fake.

Ms McPhedran told the House of Commons Immigration Committee on Wednesday that then-Defense Secretary Harjit Sajjan and Minister for Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef knew she planned to send documents to Afghan refugees to help them get out of the country to leave in 2021.

She believes former Foreign Minister Marc Garneau and Marco Mendicino, then Immigration Minister, also knew about it.

“It is very clear that there have been communications about sending out as many letters of relief as possible,” Ms McPhedran told the committee on Wednesday, adding that ministers had received copies of emails to that effect.

She said ministers never specifically replied to those letters, but sent her emails about the evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.

They never told her to stop what she was doing.

The Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship had sent several authentic letters directly to Afghan nationals who had the right to come to Canada to help them through checkpoints in Afghanistan, but would not allow third parties to do so on behalf of the government to ship.

The situation was referred to the RCMP, who determined they could not conduct a viable investigation.

Ms McPhedran told the committee that Mr Sajjan’s chief of staff had given her a model visa facilitation letter to help Afghans pass through the checkpoints to exit Afghanistan.

She clarified in an email that the pattern came from George Young: “I got this from a colleague at (Global Affairs Canada), try it.”

With the letter suggesting the form was for Canadian citizens, she asked for a revision and was soon given a new template with the words “Canadian citizen” removed.

“I trusted then, as now, in the model of relief provided by Mr. Young, I trusted in his authenticity, and he saved many lives,” she told the commission.

Messrs. Sajjan and Mendicino did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and former ministers Garneau and Monsef could not be reached immediately.

In a statement, the Department of Immigration says it cannot provide further details due to ongoing litigation.

After the meeting, NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said ministers needed to bring clarity to the committee.

“The real issue for me is the minister’s responsibility,” Ms Kwan said.

Minister Sajjan is due to appear before the commission next week and Mr Garneau has also been invited to testify.

Lawmakers from all parties have expressed serious concern about the lack of fairness, consent and due process surrounding the senator’s actions.

“None of us would ever do that, regardless of political persuasion, because of the power-sharing and the danger they can pose to soldiers, there are questions of fairness,” Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said.

Ms McPhedran’s office sent the letters directly to the Afghans and also shared the template with “trusted lawyers”, including FIFA’s human rights officer and a former Canadian Olympian.

She said she wasn’t sure how many letters were sent, but that she knew there were around 640.

“I didn’t take the numbers into account. It was about getting as many people out as possible — as many women — as possible,” she said.

Ms McPhedran told the commission she had provided the government with a running list of names, which she had “fed into the system”.

She also told the commission that she believed the letters were intended to get Afghans through checkpoints and out of the country and would not allow them entry into Canada, even though the letter itself indicated that the recipient needed a visa for entry into Canada was granted.

The senator replied that she was not responsible for the content of the letter and had received it from the government.

Ms Rempel Garner said a family member of one of her constituents received the letter and believes he was indeed permitted to come to Canada.

“Senator, you have put my family’s life in danger,” Ms. Rempel Garner told Ms. McPhedran. You risk your life. They couldn’t apply to regular programs.”

Ms McPhedran said she denied that allegation.

The committee was abruptly adjourned an hour earlier, with support from Liberal MPs and the Bloc Québécois. Several MPs said it was because they had to vote in the House of Representatives, while Liberal MP Arielle Kayabaga said she thinks they’ve exhausted their questions, which have been repetitive.

Ms McPhedran said she stands by the decisions she made.