McCallum: No guarantee Canada will meet year-end refugee goal

Federal Minister of Immigration John McCallum promised to double the number of Syrian refugees in Canada from 25,000 to 50,000 by the end of next year, during a weekend visit to Lebanon and Jordan.

That from Canada’s minister of immigration and citizenship John McCallum. The cause of the delay, he said, included poor flying weather, refugees wanting to say goodbye to family and friends, and other circumstances beyond government control. 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. He said that initially there was a “good chance” for achieving the goal by the end of the year, but given the present situation, there are only eight days left to bring in 8,000 refugees.

And the way the Syrian refugee crisis then galvanized Canadians has prompted news editors across the country to select it as Canada’s News Story of the Year for 2015.

In November, the Liberals amended that promise to 25,000 by the end of February, with the first 10,000 to have landed by the end of December.

However, Mr. McCallum said there are no guarantees that the full capacity will be used.

He added: “So one thing I can say with certainty is that our fundamental target will be hit”.

Reporters at Wednesday’s briefing were told that, as of December 21, 1,869 refugees had already landed in Canada, with three more flights scheduled to land between today and December 31, including a flight that will depart on Christmas Day and arrive in Canada on Boxing Day.

The disclosure cast doubt over whether Ottawa will be able to meet its goal of resettling 25,000 by February 29, despite assurances by the minister. McCallum held talks with both the Lebanese and Jordanian governments in which he reaffirmed Ottawa’s support for assisting and resettling refugees.

A flight carrying 298 Syrian refugees is expected to land in Montreal on Wednesday evening.