Syrian refugee crisis: Justin Trudeau places Canada in position of global

Adding that the Federal Immigration Minister John McCallum has received “offers of spaces or commitments for more than the 25 thousand”.

Safety and security of the residents of Canada is the number one priority according to Canada’s Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, who said it refuses to compromise the security work quality.

Asked about that discrepancy, McCallum said government-sponsored refugees would continue to arrive. “They’re going through turmoil, hardship, a difficult time, and if we can make their lives easier on their entry to Canada, why not?”

Nearly 2,000 refugees from Syrian will be arriving in British Columbia for resettlement by the end of February, as part of 25,000 being accepted by the new government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canadians wishing to support families as they transition to their new lives in Canada are encouraged to make a financial donation to the Syrian Refugee Arrival Appeal.

The minister says the refugee agency will use the money for shelter, protection, education and health.

Thursday’s announcement brings to $969 million the total amount of humanitarian assistance from Canada in response to the Syrian crisis, which has forced four million people to leave the country.

Canada’s new government on Tuesday unveiled a plan to accommodate about 25,000 Syrian refugees.

Calgary-based Mainstreet Equity Corp. offered at least 200 apartments across western Canada to house refugees at a discounted rate. “It’s like a reminder that freaks you out whenever you go out as a gay person”.

Former Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who lost the October 19 election to Trudeau, had declined to resettle more Syrian refugees, despite the haunting image of a drowned three-year-old boy washed up on a Turkish beach that focused global attention on the migrant crisis stemming from the civil war.

Officials say Canadians have until December 31 to make donations, which will be equaled to a ceiling of US$750,000 (CA$100 million).

About 500 Canadian officials have also been deployed overseas to individually interview and screen each of the asylum applicants flagged by the United Nations before they are allowed to travel to Canada.

“There is an opportunity for Canada to be there at the Commonwealth where some other countries like the USA, like Germany, will not be, and we’ll be able to push some of the countries that have been less enthusiastic about an ambitious resolution coming through Paris, and actually be an active proponent and player on that stage”, Trudeau told reporters Monday evening.

Asked if single men were excluded partly because of the possibility of radicalization or other security concerns, he said: “I think that is the case historically, but it is also the case they are less vulnerable”.