The previous Canadian government, led by Stephen Harper, had tightened the rules for refugee settlement-though it had resettled more than 2,000 Syrian refugees from January 2014 until Trudeau’s election in October.
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“We suffered a lot”, Kevork Jamkossian, who arrived with his wife and baby girl, told the New York Times on arrival.
But just north of the border, in Canada, new (and still very boyish) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is showing just how far leadership traits like compassion and open-mindedness can go toward endearing yourself to your countrymen.
The Washington Post suggested that public attitudes in Canada and the USA aren’t actually all that different on refugees – it cited polls that show a majority in both countries support resettlment.
As Trudeau met the military aircraft amid tight security at a special terminal, privately sponsored Syrian refugees were arriving on commercial flights at Toronto’s main terminal, greeted by sponsors and ordinary Canadians who had come to the airport to welcome the much-anticipated newcomers. “You’re safe at home now”.
The first Syrian refugee family to disembark at Toronto Pearson International Airport makes their way into the Canada Border Services Agency’s processing area on December 11, 2015. “It goes beyond government to include every single Canadian, whom we are asking to come forward and contribute…”
Canada’s Immigration and Refugees Minister John McCallum says thanky you!
“It’s like a Christmas gift to us”, she said of their arrival.
And, it’s because of this fear that many Republican politicians are hesitant on the topic of Syrian refugees.
Andrew Harris, 51, said he wanted to counter the fearful messaging about Muslims that has circulated since the Paris attacks.
Canada has long prided itself on opening its doors to asylum-seekers.
“This is something we’re able to do in this country because we define a Canadian not by a skin color or a language or a religion or a background, but by a shared set of backgrounds, aspirations, hopes and dreams that not just Canadians but people around the world share”. In times of crisis in decades past, Canada resettled refugees quickly and in large numbers. 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.
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He suggests dozens more planeloads of refugees will arrive in the next few weeks to help meet that target.
