Ottawa ?s

From the G & M:

"Canada’s refugee plan: What we know (and don’t know) so far"

 

WHAT WE KNOW:

 

What the Liberals promised: The Liberals’ election platform called for 25,000 refugees to be brought here by the end of 2015, all government-sponsored.

 

What they’re actually doing: The government announced Tuesday that 15,000 of the refugees will be government-sponsored, and 10,000 would be sponsored privately. Only 10,000 will come in before the end of December; most of the rest will be in Canada by the end of February.

 

Why they changed their minds: In London, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited the Paris terrorist attacks, saying they changed Canadians’ perceptions of security risks.

 

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

How will they be screened?

The Liberals say they’ll be taking more time to screen applicants overseas, which means they’ll be checked in countries such as Turkey and Lebanon before they can fly to Canada. But it’s unclear how long that might take, or whether the personnel Canada is sending to expedite the process will be enough.

 

When do they get here?

The new plan depends more heavily on private sponsorship, which can be a time-consuming and difficult process for refugee applicants. ( Here’s a fuller explanation from Joe Friesen of how it works.) Once here, though, they could spend weeks waiting to be redistributed across the country to the 36 service hubs offering resettlement assistance to refugees.

 

How do they get here?

Refugees will be flown to Toronto and Montreal, largely on chartered aircraft, though the military is also on call to provide airlift every 48 hours if necessary. What it would take to engage them in that role is unclear.

Who gets to come through?

Federal officials have put conditions on who to admit, focusing on families, children and members of the LGBT community. Single men will be admitted only if they are accompanied by their parents or identify as LGBT.  The Harper government also tried prioritizing some groups of Syrian refugees
when it sought to fast-track Christians and religious and ethnic groups they
felt were being targeted by Islamic State. The policy attracted controversy at
the time.

 

Who’s paying for their arrival?

Ottawa’s new deadlines and financial arrangements put additional strain on private sponsorship groups. Ratna Omidvar, a member of the sponsorship group Team Everest and chair of the organization Lifeline Syria, told The Globe that while money is less of an issue for her group, housing presents a significant challenge.

 

What will the provinces do?Ottawa will depend on the support of provinces in accommodating the refugees, but different premiers have their own perspectives on how to do that and how many refugees they can realistically take.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall lauded Mr. Trudeau on Tuesday for abandoning the Dec. 31 deadline, adding that “I still don’t believe there should be a specific deadline at all.” Mr. Wall said Wednesday that his province is preparing for the arrival of about 850 Syrian refugees, but cautions the figure has not yet been confirmed by the federal government.

 

The Quebec government says it will accept 3,650 Syrian refugees before the end of this year and another 3,650 in 2016. Pierre Moreau, the province’s acting public security minister, said Wednesday that the plan calls for Ottawa to house new arrivals in federally operated welcome centres before the province relocates them to one of 13 communities in the province.

 

 Where will they live?

Canadian Forces bases across the country are on standby for a potential influx of refugees. Captain Evelyne Lemire, a spokeswoman at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick, told The Canadian Press that they have not yet been told if they’ll receive refugees, but they were asked to see how many they could accommodate.

 

 HOW CANADA COMPARES WITH THE WORLD

Global refugee resettlement is directed by the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees. In 2013, the agency asked for 130,000 spaces to be made available by 2016, whether through direct refugee resettlement programs or humanitarian admission. Not all countries accept UN refugees for resettlement. And, in addition to what the UNHCR is asking, many European and Middle Eastern countries are also dealing with the impromptu flow of Syrians across their borders as they attempt to find new homes on their own.

United States: The UN has so far submitted 22,427 Syrian refugees to the United States for resettlement consideration. The United States has recently pledged to resettle 10,000 in the next year.

United Kingdom: 216 Syrian refugees have been accepted under a relocation program. In September, the government pledged to expand that program by accepting up to 20,000 Syrians until 2020.

Germany: 20,000 humanitarian admission, 18,500 individual sponsorship.

France: Since 2012, France has provided 1,880 asylum visas for Syrians, which enable them to travel to France for the purpose of applying for asylum. Last week, they announced they will take 30,000.

 

 ^ So many questions so little time to get them answered. I am all for letting in refugees, but before any of them touch Canadian soil they need to be vetted/screened by the Government. You can not simply allow anyone and everyone in as they could be criminals, terrorists, etc. There needs to be some sort of processing center set up outside of Canada where the refugees will be safe and taken care of while they wait on their interviews, background checks and other tests. Then, if/when they pass all their screening they should be allowed into Canada to settle. This same model should be used by all the countries that want to take in any refugees from any part of the world. Doing so will not only protect the refugees, but also the countries willing to help them. ^

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canadas-new-refugee-plan-what-we-know-and-dont-know-sofar/article27476421/