Trudeau had promised during the election campaign to resettle 25,000 refugees by the end of year.
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The government plan was released in a press conference hosted by multiple ministers and finally put some flesh on the bare bones of the government promises to rescue and relocate Syrian refugees, who are in dire circumstances as they flee their country’s civil war.
When former prime minister Stephen Harper made his proposal, equipped with the knowledge of Canada’s security protocol and a reasonable timeline for admitting refugees in mind, he was scolded for not doing enough. “They’re going through turmoil, hardship, a difficult time, and if we can make their lives easier on their entry to Canada, why not?”
“When we welcome our newcomer friends with a smile, a smile alone is not sufficient”. Trudeau also acknowledged that in the USA, among the public and state governors, there is a strong opposition to bringing in Syrian refugees.
Arsham Parsi, founder of the Toronto-based Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees, says he was glad to hear the government is prioritizing LGBT refugees, but says it needs to working closer with advocacy groups. Ottawa is now pledging to bring in 15,000 government-sponsored refugees by the end of February, 2016, with the rest to come later. But many of those are privately sponsored and had already been partially vetted under the Conservative regime.
More than 500 officials have been assigned to work on the massive resettlement program.
He said extending the deadline was a responsible move because it ensures adequate screening can be done overseas before the refugees arrive in Canada.
“Right from day one, our plan was to be diligent”, Goodale said.
Syrian refugees will begin arriving in 36 communities across the country beginning in early December. Thirty six “destination” cities are where the refugees will resettle; 12 of these are in Quebec.
The government has said it will sideline applications that raise red flags. The Conservative government also cut off millions in Canadian funding for the grouping of 54 countries formerly under British rule, waiting out Sri Lanka’s two-year chairmanship. But he also pointed to a 2010 report from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, that determined only 69 miles of the 4,000-mile frontier with Canada is “under operational control”.
The NDP noted that the planned cost is far higher than the $250 million the Liberals budgeted for in their platform and said they hope the details will be ironed out moving forward.
The groups expect up to 770 of the total 25,000 refugees to make their way to Saskatoon.
The government will use privately chartered planes to bring refugees to Canada, with military planes available for backup.
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Given that the refugees must either be registered with the UN Refugee Agency or with the Turkish government, there will be few, if any, Syrian Christians among the 25,000.
