Canada’s Immigration Minister John McCallum, right, spoke with a Syrian family at a refugee camp in Lebanon on Dec. 18, 2015. Canada met its commitment to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees that year.

Canada’s Immigration Minister John McCallum, right, spoke with a Syrian family at a refugee camp in Lebanon on Dec. 18, 2015. Canada met its commitment to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees that year.
Photo Credit: Bilal Hussein/Associated Press

Canada promises more help for Syrian refugees

Canada’s Immigration Minister John McCallum is making promises at a United Nations refugee conference in Geneva looking at ways to resettle millions of people fleeing Syria. Though he would not commit to a specific number of additional refugees Canada will accept for 2016, he did make commitments to help in other ways.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greeted Syrian refugees arriving at Toronto’s airport on Dec. 11, 2015.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greeted Syrian refugees arriving at Toronto’s airport on Dec. 11, 2015. © Nathan Denette/Canadian Press

More students to be admitted

Canada will look at ways to bring in more Syrian refugees as post-secondary students wanting to continue their studies. It promises to get the private sector more involved in the economic integration of refugees. And it is offering help other countries wishing to resettle Syrian refugees.

An estimated 4.2 million Syrians are fleeing the civil war which has dragged on for five years. Canada met its commitment to resettled 25,000 Syrian refugees in 2015 and the number is now over 26,000. Some were sponsored by the government and others by private individuals and groups.

Canada’s quick action seen as exemplary

The government promises to sponsor about 10,000 more by the end of 2016, but it’s not clear how many more will be admitted through private sponsorship.

Canada’s rapid action on the resettlement of Syrian refugees is expected to draw praise at the UN meeting. According to the organization’s numbers Canada has offered a little more than 38,000 spaces to Syrians since 2013, second only to Germany which has offered just more than 41,000 spaces.

Categories: Immigration & Refugees, International, Politics, Society
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