A look at Canada’s efforts to resettle Syrian refugees, by the numbers

– Then-immigration minister Chris Alexander admits that fewer than 200 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada since the July 2013 promise, saying the UNHCR was slow passing on referrals.

The newly elected Liberal government has pledged to take in 25,000 refugees by the end of February.

A second plane is scheduled to arrive Saturday in Montreal, he added. The planes, both military aircraft, will carry a total of 300 Syrian refugees.

25,000: Refugees the Liberal government has committed to bringing to Canada by the end of February 2016.

“We’ve been working on this project for several weeks now at a very rigorous pace, and we are so excited that tonight we’ll be welcoming the first plane of Syrian refugees who are arriving here in Canada to start a new life”, Health Minister Jane Philpott said. Some U.S. governors said their states would not accept Syrian refugees.

But the government still hasn’t followed through on its election promise to reverse health cuts to refugee care made under the previous government three years ago.

He said Canada has a tradition of assisting people from other countries, such as through the Canadian military’s involvement in airlifting more than 5,000 mainly Muslim Kosovars in 1999 amid the war in Yugoslavia and evacuating about 7,000 Ismaili Muslims expelled from Uganda by dictator Idi Amin in 1972.

Mr Trudeau, who swept the 19 October Canadian elections, has a different stance on refugees than his predecessor, the conservative Stephen Harper, who did not wish to resettle more people.

The airport has opened a specially-redesigned terminal separate from the main terminals to handle the thousands of refugees, according to Canadian Border Services Agency officials.

Two Syrian refugee children pose while their family undergoes medical screening before the beginning of an airlift to Canada, in Beirut, Lebanon December 9, 2015.

One steamy photo in particular was giving us major “get a room” vibes, as it showed the parents-of-three getting up-close-and-sexual with each other while also showcasing their incredibly shiny hair.

Canada’s resettlement program comes as debate over how to aid refugees continues in the west. In the wake of the deadly attacks in Paris, some Republican politicians called for halting the resettlement of Syrian refugees to the USA, citing security concerns.

“We’re happy to take a little more time that originally planned to bring our new friends into the country”, he stated.

“Organizations were lobbying the government to place more resources to lift the bureaucratic red tape barriers that existed and to allow refugees to come to Canada”.

Nov 26: The federal government announces a $100-million contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to help fleeing Syrians.