Canada marks arrival of 10000+ Syrian refugees, two weeks behind schedule

Thousands of Syrian refugees expected in Canada in the coming days could spend up to two weeks in temporary accommodations — including military bases — before being able to settle into more permanent homes.

According to the federal government, as part of the #WelcomeRefugees initiative, the milestone brings the country closer to its goal of welcoming 25,000 refugees to Canada by the end of February 2016.

“Many people have worked day and night to bring these refugees to Canada – and Canadians have opened their communities and their hearts to welcome them. Canada continues to set an international example with its response to the worst refugee crisis of our time,” said John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship.

More than one hundred communities across Canada have welcomed or are preparing to welcome Syrian refugees, including Kamloops and Kelowna.

A total of 10,121 Syrian refugees have been welcomed into Canada since November 4th, 2015. A total of 137 communities across the country are preparing to welcome privately-sponsored Syrian refugees and the government has so far organized 38 flights to bring them to Canada. There are still 16,347 refugee resettlement applications in progress and 5,197 applications have been finalized, but these refugees have not yet travelled to Canada.

Agencies/Canadajournal