Canada has re-settled 15,000 refugees as of January 29, 2016. The announcement was part of Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Minister John McCallum congratulatory statement. It reads in part:
“From the beginning of this project, we have always been transparent with Canadians regarding both our accomplishments and the challenges that have arisen. We have taken note in recent days of the suggestion that we match private sponsors, who are waiting for their sponsored refugees to arrive in Canada, with government-assisted refugees who are currently in temporary accommodations awaiting permanent housing.”
“We have looked into this suggestion, and while we understand that it makes sense on the surface, we have concluded that it is not in the best long-term interests of the refugees.” Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Halifax have asked to slow down arrival of Syrian refugees because of housing shortages.
McCallum’s statement pointed out the resettlement project has the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ approval. I note that former UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres described our refugee resettlement program as one of the two best in the world,” McCallum said.
The government’s goal is to resettle 25,000 refugees by the end of February, 2016. Recent media reports indicate they may double its intake to 50,000 by the end of 2016.
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