Government tackles transit, housing for 25,000 Syrian refugees
Mark Kennedy, Ottawa Citizen
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Published on: November 9, 2015 | Last Updated: November 9, 2015 6:29 PM EST
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum speaks to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, November 9, 2015. Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS
The federal government is considering using ships and commercial and military aircraft to transport 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of December.
At a news conference Monday, Citizenship and Immigration Minister John McCallum also said the Liberal government might lodge the refugees at Canadian military bases upon their arrival in coming weeks.
He said Canada might take refugees currently in three countries: Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.
Canada is putting emphasis on two factors – security screening and the health of the refugees – as it prepares to lay out the welcome mat, he said.
To that end, the government has established an ad-hoc cabinet committee to ensure the Liberals make good on their election pledge. The nine-member committee, which will hold its first meeting Tuesday, is chaired by Health Minister Jane Philpott, who has previously worked with refugees in Africa. Others include McCallum, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Treasury Board President Scott Brison, Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, herself a refugee originally from Afghanistan.
The government also appointed a senior bureaucrat to provide greater focus. Malcolm Brown, currently the deputy minister for International Development, becomes special adviser to the Clerk of the Privy Council Office on the Syrian refugee initiative. He is a former executive vice-president of the Canada Border Services Agency with experience in several departments.
“The government is committed to welcome these 25,000 refugees by the end of the year,” said McCallum, reiterating a Liberal election promise that is viewed by some as overly ambitious.
McCallum insisted the Liberals, who formed government last Wednesday, haven’t changed their minds about the speed with which they will get refugees to Canada. “But we are also determined to do the job well. Which means proper consideration be given to security concerns and to health concerns.”
He indicated the government is looking at several ways to get the refugees out of the region quickly, safely and in a cost-effective way.
“We are looking at the possibility of commercial airlines. We’re looking at the possibility of the air force. We’re looking at the possibility of ships. All of these things are being considered as we speak. And all will be used to the extent that they are needed to get the job done.”
The government is now working on a process for getting exit visas for the refugees and will “engage” in the coming days with leaders of Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, countries in which the refugees are now located.
“We have to clearly liaise with the governments of those countries and with the United Nations. Each country has its own particularities.
“It’s possible that we will take some refugees from each of those countries. Or it may mean that there will be more of a focus on one or two of them.”
McCallum said the Canadian army is “playing a major role” in the plan because military bases could be one place where the refugees are first housed.
“We are working on all these fronts at the same time.”
McCallum said he will be “reaching out” in the coming days to provincial governments and cities that have indicated they want to help.
“It is in the Canadian tradition to respond generously to such international crises and I believe from what I have heard so far in the few days I have been in this job that there are many Canadians across the land who want to reach out to help us in this endeavour.”