Syrians to arrive in Canada on first government flights Thursday
- 8 years ago
The first two government flights carrying Syrian refugees to Canada will arrive this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday.
The newly elected Liberal government is pushing forward with its pledge to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February amid an intense debate in the West over what to do with people fleeing violence in the Middle East.
Canadian Immigration Minister John McCallum noted that in contrast to the United States, all 10 of Canada's provincial leaders support accepting the refugees.
Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, who lost the Oct. 19 election to Trudeau, had declined to resettle more Syrian refugees, despite the haunting image that spread around the world that month of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach.
Trudeau initially wanted to resettle 25,000 refugees in Canada by Dec. 31 but there were concerns about logistics and he faced some pushback following the Paris attacks.
The newly elected Liberal government is pushing forward with its pledge to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February amid an intense debate in the West over what to do with people fleeing violence in the Middle East.
Canadian Immigration Minister John McCallum noted that in contrast to the United States, all 10 of Canada's provincial leaders support accepting the refugees.
Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, who lost the Oct. 19 election to Trudeau, had declined to resettle more Syrian refugees, despite the haunting image that spread around the world that month of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach.
Trudeau initially wanted to resettle 25,000 refugees in Canada by Dec. 31 but there were concerns about logistics and he faced some pushback following the Paris attacks.