A total of 11,932 applications are now in process, and funding for resettlement assistance centers has been increased by $3 million to “deal with this huge flow of refugees quite suddenly”, McCallum added.
Advertisement
The first planeload of Syrian refugees from camps in Jordan and Lebanon will arrive in Canada on Thursday, the country’s prime minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday. A second plane carrying refugees will arrive Saturday in Montreal, Trudeau told the House of Commons during question period. “They will enter this terminal as refugees and leave as permanent residents of Canada”.
Commenting on the poll findings, Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff says “Canadians are welcoming people, but the controversy that has arisen over the timing of the refugee arrivals, and the security screening they will go through, has had the effect of eroding some of that welcome”.
The federal government has begun allocating millions of dollars in funding for Syrian refugees.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the United Nations has referred 8,554 refugees to Canadian officials as of last Friday.
The Liberals have promised to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by year’s end and a further 15,000 by the end off February. The UN refugee agency says the number of refugees stranded on the border tripled to 12,000 since November because of intensifying fighting in Syria.
“My department will be sending out a notice to the medical community (and) to provincial health ministers to make sure everybody is aware of this”, he said.
Social housing is not under federal control, said McCallum, but he said he’s spoken with many mayors who say that Canadians wait for months and years for social housing.
“It’s questionable whether we’ll receive refugees from Turkey by December 31”, said McCallum. “Here we have 25,000 human beings caught in the scourge of a vicious civil war and terrorist attacks by ISIS and we are bringing these people from the frightful world in which they live to our wonderful country”.
Ottawa plans to accept Syrians from Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
Advertisement
McCallum said he’s confident Canadians will offer incoming refugees a warm welcome.
