Canada to bring in 10000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2015

Trudeau hasn’t backed down from a pledge to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by December 31 despite pushback by some following the deadly attacks in Paris.

On Tuesday, Canada’s Office for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship released a statement saying that a smaller number of Syrian refugees than originally planned would be resettled in Canada by the end of 2015.

None of it had to happen yet all of it did because as much as anyone is loathe to admit it, this most noble, moral and quintessentially Canadian element of the Liberal election campaign had, in the space of less than two weeks, been hijacked by every online, spittle flecked Islamophobic bigot able to cite the resettlement plan as an example of how this country was on the verge of being transformed into a sharia regulated state by a prime minister who, despite the election result on October 19, nevertheless remained unready.

The National Post reports Canada promised to take in 25,000 refugees by the end of the year. The government has chose to take a bit more time in its rushed plan to “get it right” says Prime Minister Trudeau.

The plan will cost up to $678 million over a period of six years. Full medical exams and security screening will be completed overseas prior to arriving in Canada.

The refugees are expected to be collected from centres in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

“Syrian refugees are like most of the other refugees that we take in each year”.

More than 3,000 Syrian refugees have already arrived in Canada since January 2014.

Health Minister Jane Philpott expects the refugees that arrive will thrive in Canada. He said the government has a robust multilayered approach to designed by immigration officials, the military, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

“We’re talking about some of the most vulnerable people in the world coming out of one of the most frightful war zones, and we just want the Canadian government to do whatever it can to help these people”, he said.

There’s also some concern that the 25,000 refugees won’t all be sponsored directly by the government, but include those already being sponsored by churches and other private groups.

One of the biggest political challenges for the government is the fear that militants could sneak into Canada disguised as refugees.

Canadian military personnel will also help government staff collect biometric data from the refugees as part of the security process.

The decision to extend the deadline for bringing in refugees was defended by North Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson, who said the change in plan represents a “prudent balance” between responding compassionately to the refugee crisis and ensuring safety.

Goodale says the most vulnerable will be chosen to be settled in Canada – that includes women, children, families and the elderly.

“Premiers and mayors are justifiably wondering how the federal government is going to pay for it”, said NDP Leader Tom Mulcair.

Government-assisted refugees are provided at least 12 months of financial living support in addition to ancillary supports such as health, education, language training and more.

Since the outbreak of the war there in 2011, the United Nations estimates some 4.2 million people have been displaced.