Trudeau Welcomes ‘New Canadians’ As First Planeload Of Syrian Refugees Arrives

In late November, the Liberals admitted they would fail to meet the target, saying they will bring in 10,000 mostly private-sponsored refugees by the year’s end and another 15,000 government-sponsored refugees by 29 February.

The first Syrian refugee family to arrive at Canada Migrations, Dec. 11.

The UN Refugee Agency has welcomed news of the arrival in Canada last night of the first group of Syrian refugees under a recently announced humanitarian programme. So if a delayed flight meant waiting a few hours longer, the friends and families of Syrian refugees had plenty of practice.

These were not the first refugees from the Syrian civil war to arrive in Canada – several hundred have made it independently to this country on commercial flights, and others continued to arrive unheralded at the airport Thursday night.

Trudeau said that Canada is revealing “the world how to open our hearts” and welcome individuals fleeing “astonishingly challenging scenarios” in search of a better life. The 163 refugees aboard the military aircraft were met by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Federal health representatives were also on hand at the airport, where there was an additional arrival screening, and “everyone was in good health”, she added.

The warm welcoming for the refugees stands in stark contrast next to the opinion of many governors in the US who have been outspoken about banning refugees entry into the country.

Another planeload of refugees is expected to arrive in Montreal on Saturday.

Government departments across Canada having been warming up to the country’s biggest refugee resettlement programme and the results are quite evidently exceptional.

“We want to make sure that we provide not only for the physical needs of refugees as they arrive, but the mental wellness needs”, Philpott said. The former Conservative government had declined to resettle more Syrian refugees, despite the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. “I came as a permanent resident, but when I met the families and saw the children that were coming out, you just saw the enthusiasm in their eyes and how appreciative that they were for what Canada is doing for them”.

Refugees now in Lebanon are being transferred to Jordan before taking flights to Canada, IOM said. The boy had relatives in Canada, according to reports, and the refugee crisis became a major campaign issue during the fall.

Indeed, Trudeau’s efforts to distinguish his government from Harper’s go beyond Syrian refugees. Even before the conflict, Canada has been opening its doors to asylum seekers.