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Canada to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees by year-end, not 25,000
Lee Berthiaume, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: November 24, 2015 | Last Updated: November 24, 2015 6:42 PM EST
The government will resettle only about 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year, or less than half the 25,000 promised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the election campaign.
Liberal cabinet ministers revealed the new timing on Tuesday, as they presented an outline of the government’s plan for bringing the Syrian refugees to Canada. The entire 25,000 won’t arrive until the end of February, the ministers said. The effort will cost as much as $678 million over six years.
The revelation represents the Liberal government’s first unfulfilled promise since the election. Trudeau had pledged to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year during the campaign, after pictures of three-year-old Alan Kurdi’s body on a Turkish beach catapulted the Syrian refugee crisis into a major election issue.
Numerous refugee groups and other civil society organizations had warned in recent weeks that the promise of bringing 25,000 refugees in by Dec. 31 was unrealistic, while some provincial and municipal leaders had called on the government to take its time because of security concerns. But Trudeau and his ministers stood by the plan – until Tuesday.
Immigration Minister John McCallum said the government decided to take two months longer than originally planned to make sure the Syrians receive a warm welcome, which includes proper accommodation. He indicated concerns about security were not a factor in the delay.
“I have always said that we need to do these things right, and I think Canadians agree with that,” McCallum said. “Canadians said: ‘Yes, act quickly, but make sure you do things right.’ … So that is what we are doing.”
The Liberal election platform had also said the government would cover the resettlement costs of all 25,000 refugees. However, the ministers said the government would sponsor only 15,000, with private sponsors responsible for the rest. The 10,000 Syrians due to arrive this year will include 2,000 who are privately sponsored.
Asked about the pledge, McCallum said the Liberal government would end up paying to resettle a total of 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016. “There are so many families across the country that want to take in privately sponsored refugees,” he said.
The refugees will arrive in Canada after being screened for health and security risks overseas. The majority will come from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, although some may arrive from other places as well. Approximately four million Syrians are in those three countries after fleeing Syria’s nearly five-year civil war.
“Safety and security have been at the top of our priority list,” Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said. “Before anyone gets on a plane to come to Canada, the security screening will be fully completed overseas.”
The government will prioritize families, women at risk, and members of the LGBTI community. Single men will only be allowed to come to Canada if they identify as LGBTI or are accompanying their parents as part of a family unit.
Those priority categories do not apply to privately sponsored refugees. Such asylum seekers will also be carefully screened, officials said, but otherwise single men will be allowed to come to Canada like any other refugee. Goodale said any applications that raise questions or concerns will be set aside.
The government plans to use chartered flights to bring the refugees to Toronto and Montreal, but could turn to military aircraft if necessary. Privately sponsored refugees will go to their host communities upon arrival, while the government-sponsored refugees will head to 36 communities for integration.
Thirteen of the communities are in Quebec, with the other 23 communities in other parts of the country. A Canadian Armed Forces official said the military has 6,000 spaces on military bases available to house refugees. However, the hope was that there would be enough spaces in communities to take them all in.
The government did not produce a list of communities that have agreed to accept refugees, but McCallum said the list continues to grow and that his “vision” is to have the refugees “distributed relatively equally across the country.”
Officials expected the first group of refugees to arrive in Canada in early December, although they didn’t have a specific date. Officials said 102 Syrian refugees have arrived since Nov. 4, which is when they started the clock on the commitment. The 3,089 resettled between July 2013 and Nov. 3 did not count toward the count.
lberthiaume@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/leeberthiaume
Syrian refugees: By the Numbers
5: The number of phases for Canada’s Syrian refugee plan which includes identification, processing, transportation, arrivals and integration.
6: The number of years in the government’s financial plan.
$678 million: The estimated federal cost of the refugee program, not including help for provinces.
500: The number of staff from all departments working on the Syrian refugee file overseas.
10,000: The number of refugees expected to come to Canada by Dec. 31, 2015.
15,000: The remaining refugees expected to come to Canada by February 2016.
10,000: The number of privately sponsored refugees.
15,000: The number of government-sponsored refugees.
– The Canadian Press
Lee Berthiaume, Ottawa CitizenPublished on: November 24, 2015 | Last Updated: November 24, 2015 6:42 PM EST
The government will resettle only about 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year, or less than half the 25,000 promised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the election campaign.
Liberal cabinet ministers revealed the new timing on Tuesday, as they presented an outline of the government’s plan for bringing the Syrian refugees to Canada. The entire 25,000 won’t arrive until the end of February, the ministers said. The effort will cost as much as $678 million over six years.
The revelation represents the Liberal government’s first unfulfilled promise since the election. Trudeau had pledged to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year during the campaign, after pictures of three-year-old Alan Kurdi’s body on a Turkish beach catapulted the Syrian refugee crisis into a major election issue.
Numerous refugee groups and other civil society organizations had warned in recent weeks that the promise of bringing 25,000 refugees in by Dec. 31 was unrealistic, while some provincial and municipal leaders had called on the government to take its time because of security concerns. But Trudeau and his ministers stood by the plan – until Tuesday.
Immigration Minister John McCallum said the government decided to take two months longer than originally planned to make sure the Syrians receive a warm welcome, which includes proper accommodation. He indicated concerns about security were not a factor in the delay.
“I have always said that we need to do these things right, and I think Canadians agree with that,” McCallum said. “Canadians said: ‘Yes, act quickly, but make sure you do things right.’ … So that is what we are doing.”
The Liberal election platform had also said the government would cover the resettlement costs of all 25,000 refugees. However, the ministers said the government would sponsor only 15,000, with private sponsors responsible for the rest. The 10,000 Syrians due to arrive this year will include 2,000 who are privately sponsored.
Asked about the pledge, McCallum said the Liberal government would end up paying to resettle a total of 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016. “There are so many families across the country that want to take in privately sponsored refugees,” he said.
The refugees will arrive in Canada after being screened for health and security risks overseas. The majority will come from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, although some may arrive from other places as well. Approximately four million Syrians are in those three countries after fleeing Syria’s nearly five-year civil war.
“Safety and security have been at the top of our priority list,” Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said. “Before anyone gets on a plane to come to Canada, the security screening will be fully completed overseas.”
The government will prioritize families, women at risk, and members of the LGBTI community. Single men will only be allowed to come to Canada if they identify as LGBTI or are accompanying their parents as part of a family unit.
Those priority categories do not apply to privately sponsored refugees. Such asylum seekers will also be carefully screened, officials said, but otherwise single men will be allowed to come to Canada like any other refugee. Goodale said any applications that raise questions or concerns will be set aside.
The government plans to use chartered flights to bring the refugees to Toronto and Montreal, but could turn to military aircraft if necessary. Privately sponsored refugees will go to their host communities upon arrival, while the government-sponsored refugees will head to 36 communities for integration.
Thirteen of the communities are in Quebec, with the other 23 communities in other parts of the country. A Canadian Armed Forces official said the military has 6,000 spaces on military bases available to house refugees. However, the hope was that there would be enough spaces in communities to take them all in.
The government did not produce a list of communities that have agreed to accept refugees, but McCallum said the list continues to grow and that his “vision” is to have the refugees “distributed relatively equally across the country.”
Officials expected the first group of refugees to arrive in Canada in early December, although they didn’t have a specific date. Officials said 102 Syrian refugees have arrived since Nov. 4, which is when they started the clock on the commitment. The 3,089 resettled between July 2013 and Nov. 3 did not count toward the count.
lberthiaume@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/leeberthiaume
Syrian refugees: By the Numbers
5: The number of phases for Canada’s Syrian refugee plan which includes identification, processing, transportation, arrivals and integration.
6: The number of years in the government’s financial plan.
$678 million: The estimated federal cost of the refugee program, not including help for provinces.
500: The number of staff from all departments working on the Syrian refugee file overseas.
10,000: The number of refugees expected to come to Canada by Dec. 31, 2015.
15,000: The remaining refugees expected to come to Canada by February 2016.
10,000: The number of privately sponsored refugees.
15,000: The number of government-sponsored refugees.
– The Canadian Press
