He told them that they had now arrived home.
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The first Canadian government plane carrying Syrian refugees arrived in Toronto, where it was greeted by prime minister Justin Trudeau.
“It’s our pleasure”, said Trudeau to another refugee family at Pearson.
“This is something that we are able to do in this country because we define a Canadian not by a skin colour or a language or a religion or a background, but by a shared set of values, aspirations, hopes and dreams that not just Canadians but people around the world share”, he added.
The number of irregular migrants arriving in Greece fell sharply last month, with probably fewer than 100,000 people recorded by the European Union border agency, less than half the number in October, a Frontex said yesterday.
In an attempt not to overwhelm the refugees, the Canadian government asked the general public not to come to the airport, but that did not stop some well-wishers.
“It’s a very important initiative and something that Canada is getting behind, but that doesn’t absolve the government of its responsibility to be asking how we are resourcing these initiatives”, Ms. Rempel said.
Starting Friday, 116 of the new arrivals will head to homes in the Toronto area. The majority will stay in Toronto, while others are heading to Columbia and Alberta, reports the Times.
The Canada Council for the Arts and Sun Life Financial have teamed up to give financial support to arts organizations that provide free cultural events for refugees in their local communities.
The new Liberal government campaigned on a pledge to resettle 25,000 Syrians this year. How are they doing it?
Trudeau personally greeted more than 160 refugees after they landed in Toronto late on Thursday night. The refugees will go through various levels of screening, including by Canadian immigration and security officials, before getting on a plane to Canada.
Syrian refugees begin to arrive in Canada at Pearson International Airport in Mississauga on Dec, 10, 2015. In the 1990s, Canada took in 5,000 people from Kosovo; in 1972, it flew 5,000 people from Uganda; 60,000 Vietnamese were airlifted in 1979-80.
“My parents were here helping the other day”.
He said his family fled the northern Syrian city of Aleppo because they feared death at the hands of hardline Islamist rebels and jihadist militants.
“Welcome to your new home”, Trudeau told the refugees.
“I think what also made it very hard for me was the wind chill”, said Abukar, the executive director at Saskatoon Open Door Society, which teaches new Canadians how to dress for the cold. A lot of them are being sponsored by private groups and citizens. Most are now living in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
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In three months, Yukon Cares raised $46,000 to sponsor the Syrian family and help them with food, rent, clothing and furniture in Canada.
