Canada welcomes first Syrian refugees

On Thursday, the Toronto Star, a major Canadian daily, published a front page welcoming Syrian refugees to Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greeted more than 160 Syrian refugees as they arrived in Toronto late Thursday night. As the Canadian prime minster literally embraced the newly arrived refugees, United States republican frontrunner Donald Trump has said he would close USA borders to all Muslims in the wake of mounting security fears over Islamic terrorism. Canadian news website, The Globe and mail, reported that immigration officials said that the Canadian government should have no problem meeting its stated targets of bringing 10,000 of the refugees to Canada by the end of the year and another 15,000 by the end of February.

This is just the first wave of Syrian refugees arriving in Canada.

Canada’s Immigration and Refugees Minister John McCallum has lauded the efforts of Sikhs to help thousands fleeing Syria, a media report said.

“I feel great”, he said.

The government’s most recent figures show that 1,537 permanent resident visas have so far been issued and nearly 12,538 refugee applications are now being processed. In times of crisis in decades past, Canada resettled refugees quickly and in large numbers. Those considered to be at-risk refugees include families, women deemed to be at risk, and gay men and women.

Syrian refugees will have the chance to immerse themselves in Canadian culture for free, thanks to a new initiative announced on Friday. “All my friends are asking about Canada now and how they can come here”.

The number of irregular migrants arriving in Greece fell sharply last month, with probably fewer than 100,000 people recorded by the European Union border agency, less than half the number in October, a Frontex said yesterday.

Do you think the needs of the refugees should come ahead of the needs of Canadian citizens and immigrants who have worked hard to get into this country?

She said she had spoken to some of the families before they boarded the plane and said no one minds the extra night in a hotel.

November 19: A coalition of Canadian anti-racism groups urges people not to let refugees become scapegoats for the Paris attacks.

Christians, who made up about 10 per cent of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million, were among several religious minorities the former Conservative government gave priority to for refugee status in Canada.

Global News reporter Mike Armstrong has been taking photos of refugees at Canada’s refugee processing centre in Amman, Jordan.

“This is the biggest crisis in the refugee world of our times bar none”. It airlifted more than 5,000 people from Kosovo in the late 1990s, more than 5,000 from Uganda in 1972 and resettled 60,000 Vietnamese in 1979-1980.