The refugee resettlement program is now estimated to cost $678 million, far more than the $250 million promised by the Liberal party in their election platform. Officials say Canadians have until December 31 to make donations, which will be equaled to a ceiling of US$75 million (CA$100 million).
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Canada’s plan to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees in the next three months is being hampered by the requirements in their host countries to get exit visas, Citizenship Minister John McCallum told Reuters on Wednesday.
Bibeau said the agency will put the money toward shelter, protection, education and health for the refugees. “On the contrary, he was effusive in his support of what we were doing”, said Trudeau.
Businesses and entrepreneurs are stepping in to help settle the thousands of Syrian refugees coming to Canada over the next few weeks.
“We know that Syrian refugees are cutting on meals, taking on debt to meet their basic daily needs and risking their lives to leave Syria”, she said.
United Nations staff in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey are now working overtime and on weekends to help select the Syrians who will be brought to Canada.
The government will use privately chartered planes to bring refugees to Canada, with military planes available for backup.
With this announcement, the government says Canada has provided a total of almost $1 billion in aid funding in response to the crisis in Syria.
International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said the government will move quickly to disburse the funds that it has already announced, but was noncommittal about whether more might be pledged in the future.
“The important thing is to be able to reassure Canadians that absolutely everything is being done to keep Canadians safe and therefore ensure these refugees are welcomed as new Canadians and not a cause for anxiety or division within the population”, he said in the televised remarks. They also apply to Nordic citizens who have enjoyed passport-free travel for decades.
We urge you to rethink your promise and think more about Canadians than foreign refugees. Security screening will be done overseas, now, instead of in Canada.
In a statement released by Rideau Hall, Johnston said more than 100 people from the public and private sectors, as well as members of civil society, will gather to discuss supporting the settlement and integration process.
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The new regulations were announced after Sweden said it’s tightening border controls because the refugee situation was getting out of control.
