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Syrian Refugee Crisis named CP News Story of the Year
Posted On Dec 27 2015
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One week ago, federal officials said they were optimistic that the objective of bringing in 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year would be met.
That’s more than enough to meet the 10,000 goal, but McCallum factors out of the government’s control could mean that not all will be in the air by the end of December.
Three more flights carrying Syrian refugees are scheduled to land before December 31. After forming the government on November 4, the Liberals reduced their targets to 10,000 refugees by the end of the year, and a total of 25,000 by the end of February.
During the election, the Liberals promised to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees into Canada by the end of the year, a higher number than both the NDP and Conservatives combined.
Speaking in the Jordanian capital of Amman, McCallum told reporters that he plans to resettle 35,000 to 50,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016, Canada’s largest-circulation daily newspaper the Toronto Star reports.
“It’s certainly not guaranteed”, McCallum said.
However, McCallum said he’s “very confident” that the 25,000 Syrian refugees will have landed in Canada as permanent residents before the end of February.
“We are moving heaven and Earth to get them here as quickly as we can”.
On November 24, the Canadian government amended its refugee policy to accept 25,000 Syrian men, women and children. There will be no flights landing on Christmas Day, McCallum confirmed, but some may be taking off to begin their journey to Canada. The deadline was extended to the end of February last month.
McCallum also announced a government investment of $15 million to help local groups working on refugee resettlement efforts in Canada. He said a planeload of refugees was due to arrive in Montreal later on Wednesday. Canadian Minister of Immigration John McCallum, right, speaks with a Syrian family inside their tent, during his visit to a refugee camp in the southern town of Ghaziyeh, near the port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 18, 2015.
