Canada plans to resettle up to 1,300 refugees from war-torn Syria by the end of next year, Federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced on Wednesday. The federal government will immediately take in 200 people deemed at high risk by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The remaining 1,100 are to be brought in via private sponsorship organisations by the end of next year."I've met with hundreds of Canadians of Syrian origin over the past year and have heard their anxiety and their desire to help with those facing danger and have had to flee their homes," Kenney said at a downtown Edmonton centre that assists new immigrants. "Canada is meeting its commitment to the UN and making an important contribution to the co-ordinated global effort to help Syrian refugees."
An estimated two million people have fled their homes in Syria during the civil war. Kenney said the government is committed to the UN's goal of finding a long-term political solution to the fighting.
"You cannot solve a refugee crisis involving millions of people by just seeking to airlift them to a handful of developed countries," said Kenney. "That is completely unrealistic and, in fact, is not a long-term solution."
The 200 high-risk spaces are for people who are in immediate danger in refugee camps, including women facing sexual violence, children, gay men and religious minorities, said Kenney.
"We're looking with the UN at those people who have faced, if you will, secondary persecution. They fled Syria because of the war and now they're facing danger in some of the camps," said Kenney. "The UN frankly just needs to get them out and those are the people we are focusing on."