Canada: Prime Minister welcomes first plane carrying Syrian refugees

After months of promises and weeks of preparation, the first Canadian government planeload of Syrian refugees landed in Toronto on Thursday, aboard a military aircraft met by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

All 10 of Canada’s provincial premiers support taking in the refugees and members of the opposition, including the Conservative party, attended the welcoming late Thursday.

Syrian refugees now in Turkey will be able to fly to Canada directly without transitioning in another country, he said, adding that 100 people were processed the first day the centre was operational.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump caused a worldwide furor with a proposal to temporarily halt Muslims from entering the U.S.

The first flight arrived just before midnight carrying 163 refugees who fled the civil war in Syria.

“Today, we welcome many Syrian refugees who were forced to flee their homeland because of war and conflict”. Harper’s government insisted Syrian refugees needed to be carefully vetted in case they posed a security threat. The public was actually warned to stay away from the Toronto airport, as officials feared the overwhelming rush of kindhearted people who wanted to greet the refugees with open arms. The others are sponsored by Canadians in British Columbia as well as another part of Ontario and Alberta.

The centre, operated jointly by the Canadian government, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), the Danish Refugee Council and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), began registering Syrian refugees slated for resettlement in Canada on 29 November. The boy had relatives in Canada, and the refugee crisis became a major campaign issue. Canada is doing the right thing by providing refuge for those so desperately seeking safety.

But just north of the border, in Canada, new (and still very boyish) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is showing just how far leadership traits like compassion and open-mindedness can go toward endearing yourself to your countrymen.

“This is the biggest crisis in the refugee world of our times bar none”.

The Canada Council for the Arts and Sun Life Financial have teamed up to give financial support to arts organizations that provide free cultural events for refugees in their local communities.