On Wednesday, dozens of passionate Afghans protested outside the Toronto office of Marco Mendicino, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, demanding the federal government assist interpreters and their family members who have been left behind in the humanitarian disaster that is Afghanistan.

Alas, Minister Mendicino was either AWOL from his office or hiding behind his desk as staff locked the office doors and refused to engage with the demonstrators.

It was shameful to see, really.

What is happening in Afghanistan is literally a matter of life and death for those who assisted the Canadian Armed Forces there. And many of the demonstrators have family members stuck in Afghanistan, hiding from door-knocking members of the Taliban (or “our brothers,” as Minister of Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef likes to call these barbarians).

One large sign at the protest said it all: “We helped you; you help us.”

But will the Justin Trudeau Liberals live up to their promises of safe passage? Or, will the prime minister abandon our allies, and turn a blind eye to them potentially perishing at the hands of the Taliban? The clock is ticking; it would be nice to see Justin Trudeau take just one day off from campaigning to make all the necessary calls so that Canada can live up to our commitments — but don’t bet on that happening. Shameful, gross, and embarrassing.