Canada aims to double intake of Syrian refugees to 50000

The commitment to bring up to 50,000 Syrian refugees into Canada by the end of next year – assuming this is in addition to the 25,000 refugees Canada normally accepts annually from all countries – will put new strains on our refugee intake system.

That from Canada’s minister of immigration and citizenship John McCallum. The U.S. plans to take just 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year.

Families who are accepted for resettlement are sponsored by individuals and charities.

The prime minister earlier this month personally welcomed the first group to arrive at the Toronto airport aboard a military transport plane.

Canada will be working with International Organization for Migration, the United Nations refugee agency, and the Jordanian government to quickly vet the refugees and resettle them.

Three more flights are scheduled by December 31st.

The government has promised to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February with the first 10,000 to have landed by year end. So far, about 1,600 refugees have arrived.

“I am convinced that, by the end of the year, 10,000 or more Syrian refugees will be confirmed, certified as Canadian permanent residents”.

As of December 21, 2,393 refugees held finalized applications but had not yet travelled to Canada, while 19,510 applications were in process, a government website read.

Refugees mass on the Turkish border.

For years, the millions displaced by the ongoing civil war in Syria barely registered in Canada, but a single death this fall suddenly brought the conflict home. The new landfill is one of several projects that Canada is funding in the region, to help shore up local resources that have been stretched thin by the refugee influx.

McCallum said there would be “large numbers” of flights coming into Canada in the coming days, but other than a planeload of refugees due to arrive in Montreal later on Wednesday and another to arrive in Canada the day after Christmas, he did not give specific details.