First planeload of Syrian refugees headed to Canada

At a temporary processing centre at Toronto’s Pearson airport, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also waited to greet the Syrian refugees.

Those plans have been sharply criticized by several presidential candidates who have called for a halt to the arrival of Syrian refugees, and several states, including Texas and Alabama, that have said they don’t want Syrians resettled there.

“It will be a great day”, he declared to the House of Commons. There’s precedence for this to be found in Canada’s history – Operation Lifeline – the ancestor of our current LifeLine Syria – was a citizen-driven initiative that ended up transforming a comparatively weak resettlement project into a world-recognized initiative that earned the Canadian people the UNHCR’s Nansen award in 1986.

“They step off the plane as refugees, but they walk out of this terminal as permanent residents of Canada with social insurance numbers, with health cards and with an opportunity to become full Canadians”, Trudeau said.

Then, a further 15,000 spaces would be reserved for government-assisted refugees with the goal of bringing them in by the end of February 2016.

Yussuff said the “boldness” of the Trudeau government’s plan to accept Syrian refugees has received widespread support from all sectors of Canadian society.

Canada’s welcoming stands in stark contrast to the U.S. All 10 of Canada’s provincial premiers support taking in the refugees and members of the opposition, including the Conservative party, attended the welcoming late Thursday.

A second flight with another 150 refugees will arrive in Montreal on Saturday.

Canada is preparing to welcome its first batch of Syrian refugees as the USA debates the issue. In the case of refugees who have private sponsors, they’ve likely been in touch in recent weeks.

Applications to sponsor Syrian refugees have been pouring in since early September, when a photo appeared of a lifeless 3-year-old boy whose body had been swept ashore at a Turkish beach.

The first two flights bring in refugees using military aircraft.

“If you give $100 to the Red Cross the government is matching it for $100”, says Wilde, “If you’re looking to help refugees, they need so much help still in the Middle-East, where they are before they come, that I think you’re getting double the bang for your buck”.

There are two categories of refugees that will make their way to the island: government sponsored and privately sponsored.

The government has however been criticised over its decision to exclude unaccompanied, heterosexual, single adult men from the programme over security concerns.

“It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations peoples: one that is based on the understanding that the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of First Nations are a sacred obligation that we carry forward”.

“Me personally, I’m very grateful to Canada and to be in Canada”, he said.