Syrian refugee numbers on track: McCallum
One big difference, pointed out by several outlets, is the political tone – this on a week where the USA election debate was dominated by one candidate’s plan to bar all Muslim visitors.
The first military plane carrying Syrian refugees to be resettled in Canada has arrived in the country.
Numerous refugees shuffled onto two Greyhound buses, which came to take them to the Armenian Community Centre of Toronto in North York around midday on Friday.
“We suffered a lot”, said Kevork Jamkossian, who arrived with his wife, Georgina Zires, and their 16-month-old daughter, Madeleine.
Trudeau told the staff and volunteers at the facility, “First of all, thank you for being here”. “We felt ourselves at home”.
Trudeau replied: “You are home”.
United Nations refugee spokesman Adrian Edwards says his agency applauds the swift manner in which Canada is acting in implementing the humanitarian initiative announced late last month.
Families were given teddy bears and winter clothing.
Upon arrival, the refugees will be welcomed and undergo the final steps for admission by Canada Border Services Officers (BSO) who will confirm their identity using the documentation the refugees received following their immigration processing overseas. They may have been surprised to learn that the man in the blue shirt was the Prime Minister of Canada, and the woman next to him, the Premier or Ontario, Kathleen Wynne.
In the US, President Obama has pledged to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016.
“Resettling refugees demonstrates our commitment to Canadians and the world that Canada understands we can and must do more”, said Trudeau. The US doesn’t seem like that. “Our country can not be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life”, Trump said. “It’s so multicultural”, he said.
And when they get there, there are plenty of friends to be had.
An editorial from the paper read: “As 150 refugees land at Pearson today – among the first of the 25,000 – on behalf of the Star and our readers we say: Welcome to Canada”.
Dozens gathered at the arrivals gate in Terminal 1 in hopes of personally welcoming refugees. Trudeau also greeted citizens in subway stations the next morning and is notorious for taking selfies with people he meets in various situations.
About 800 refugees are going through screening tests in Lebanon and Jordan daily, Mr McCallum said.
Of the 163 individuals who arrived from Jordan, 116 will settle in the Toronto area. The others are sponsored by Canadians in another part of Ontario as well as British Columbia and Alberta.
However, the government still plans to have the first 10,000 refugees brought to Canada by the end of December. The child had relatives in Canada, and the refugee crisis became a major campaign issue.