“We will be looking for close collaboration in the days to come to help make a home for the victims of this tragedy”, said McCallum.
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“The government is committed to welcoming 25,000 refugees by the end of the year”, Immigration Minister John McCallum told reporters, “But we are also determined to do the job well, which means proper consideration be given to security concerns and to health concerns”.
Air Canada said Monday it has offered to help airlift refugees from Beirut to Canada.
The airline cannot fly into Syria, but it can ferry refugees from neighbouring countries to Canada.
McCallum said the Canadian military is expected to play a major role in lodging refugees on military bases as it was done during the Kosovo refugee crisis, as well as providing air lift. Whatever works. Whatever is cost effective. McCallum will join the ministers of public safety, defence, foreign affairs and Treasury Board, among others, on the committee. Those files are still being processed; as of the first week of October, only 2,563 people had arrived.
“With this co-ordinated, cross-government approach, it would be a little bit diminishing if on the 31st of December we are going to do the mathematics that, ‘Oh no, it was 19,000, it was 23 (thousand), it was 17,000, it was 15,000”, he said.
“We are working on the process for selecting the refugees, for getting exit permits for these refugees”.
In addition to the commitment to resettlement, the Liberals also pledged $100 million to the UNHCR, but De Angelis said he has had no talks with them to date about that financial promise.
The Liberal Government made a number of commitments in regards to refugees, including a restoration of the Interim Federal Health Program that provides limited and temporary health benefits to refugees, an increase in sponsorship investment; as well as an immediate $100 million contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to support critical relief activities in Syria and surrounding areas.
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In a statement, NDP MP Jenny Kwan said the party applauds the Liberals’ goal, but hopes the government’s next announcement is how it intends to achieve it.
