“We’ve been working on this project for several weeks now at a very rigorous pace, and we are so excited that tonight we’ll be welcoming the first plane of Syrian refugees who are arriving here in Canada to start a new life”, Health Minister Jane Philpott said.
Advertisement
“We define a Canadian not by a skin color or a language or a faith or a foundation”, Trudeau said, “but by a common group of values, aspirations, hopes and fantasies that not only Canadians but individuals round the world share”.
High school friends Joja Smiljanic, 19, and Christine Ross, 19 drove from Guelph to greet the refugees with $200 in Tim Hortons gift cards. The former Conservative government had declined to resettle more Syrian refugees, despite the haunting image of a drowned three-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach.
The first Canadian government plane carrying Syrian refugees arrived in Toronto late Thursday.
Syrian refugees begin to arrive in Canada at Pearson International Airport in Mississauga on Dec, 10, 2015.
The first flight arrived just before midnight carrying 163 refugees who fled the civil war in Syria.
Stefania Dunlop is part of a local group that brought packages for refugees arriving in Canada. The prospect of jihadist violence and infiltration in the West – though totally separate from the plight of Syrian refugees – has led to a host of American politicians calling for a halt to refugee arrivals.
Immigration Minister John McCallum says Canada is still on track to welcome 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year.
Though public opinion is mixed in Canada, a plurality of citizens support Trudeau’s effort, according to one recent survey.
Syrian refugees now in Turkey will be able to fly to Canada directly without transitioning in another country, he said, adding that 100 people were processed the first day the centre was operational. The majority will stay in Toronto, while others are heading to Columbia and Alberta, reports the Times.
Advertisement
Shadi Mardelli, who escaped Syria with his family and lived in Lebanon for over a year, told reporters outside the hotel that he’s “very happy” to be in Canada. “I am pleased to support this initiative that will allow newcomers to discover Canadian culture through enriching cultural and artistic experiences”, said Mélanie Joly, the Minister for Canadian Heritage in a press release.
