A volunteer helps Syrian refugees arriving in Lesbos, Greece from Turkey yesterday. They are among some 20,000 refugees and migrants who have arrived on the island with a population of 100,000.

A volunteer helps Syrian refugees arriving in Lesbos, Greece from Turkey yesterday. They are among some 20,000 refugees and migrants who have arrived on the island with a population of 100,000.
Photo Credit: Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo

Canadian province wants more Syrian refugees

The government of the province of Quebec is vowing to take more Syrian refugees but needs the cooperation of the Canadian government to do so.

Quebec has a large Syrian community

Quebec has extraordinary powers to manage its own immigration policy. In the past, nationalist parties in power in  French-speaking province have sought outright independence from Canada, while other administrations have simply agitated for more powers. They have succeeded in some sectors including immigration, taxation and pensions, to name a few.

Quebec is thought to be home to Canada’s largest Syrian community, numbering as estimated 17,000 people. It has settled 650 refugees from Syria since the beginning of this year, and last year it settled 60 per cent of all Syrians accepted across the country.

Quebec needs Canadian government co-operation

Quebec proposes to bring in 3,650 Syrian refugees in 2015, tripling its original target. However in order to do so it would require the federal government’s cooperation since it controls border security and other processing functions.

After the photo of the three-year old boy washed up on a Turkish beach went viral, the Canadian government has come under increasing pressure to take in more Syrian refugees.  Several mayors and provincial leaders have requested it and a public opinion survey suggests the public want it too.

No repeat of past emergency airlifts

In past refugee crises, the Canadian government has taken emergency measures to take in thousands of refugees, for example, from Vietnam and Kosovo. In the current situation, it has not done so and has taken in 2,374 so far. Several refugee advocacy groups have criticized this.

The incumbent Conservative party promises to bring in a total of 11,300 over three years if it is re-elected on Oct. 19.

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