Canada will accept only women, children, families from Syria

The federal government’s much-anticipated Syrian refugee plan will limit those accepted into Canada to women, children and families only, CBC News has learned.

The CBC said that in the past six weeks, Canadian authorities have been able to screen about 100 people per day in Lebanon, in addition to refugees being processed by the UN. Most nations along Europe’s refugee corridor, except Greece, abruptly shut their borders Thursday to those not coming from war-torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq, leaving thousands desperately seeking a better life in the continent stranded at Balkan border crossings. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, while assuring Canadians that the government is up to the task of balancing security with swift humanitarian action, has said a few security checks may be completed after the refugees’ arrival in Canada. Canada’s screening is being co-ordinated across departments, including the RCMP and CSIS. It is expected that they will also reveal the kind of security screenings that it has been doing and whether it will just be limited to the refugee camps overseas, or whether additional screenings will take place in Canada. The total cost of the six-year resettlement program will be around $900 million.

The refugees, many of whom have already spent months or years in such rough shelter, will not be living in tents in Canada. Majority of those incoming will be arriving to Toronto and Montreal. Those rights apply to refugees once they arrive in Canada and could open the government up to potential legal problems, if applied.

On Monday, Trudeau is meeting with the premiers of Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories to discuss, among other matters, the distribution of Syrian settlements.