Canada to bring in 10,000 refugees by the end of 2015

“Resettling refugees is a proud and important part of Canada's humanitarian tradition,” according to the Government of Canada's Immigration website.

And it is true. Historically, we have been known to bring in many refugees at a time, with no limitations on their age, gender, sexual orientation or religion. However, the preference of Syrian refugees to enter Canada is being given to families, women, children and members of the LGBT community.

The challenge with this is that “we cannot quiz anybody, especially not vulnerable people, on their religion and sexual orientation because we have to understand that these people come from harsh and oppressive governments where speaking out or openly displaying your views is frowned upon and can be punished severely, in some cases,” Leila Almawy said.

Almawy is an activist for those “who've been and are oppressed by the system”. Her mother was on the boat of people who came to Canada in 1976 fleeing the war in Lebanon, making her especially passionate about the Syrian refugees.

Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, said in a press conference on Nov. 24 that the Liberal government aims to bring in 10,000 government- sponsored refugees by Dec. 31.

Another 15,000 refugees will be brought into Canada by February 2016. Out of these 15,000, 10,000 will be privately sponsored and 5,000 will be government-sponsored. The Liberal government has said that they will bring in the remaining 10,000 government-sponsored refugees over the course of 2016.

“I believe that fear is playing into this delay as well as pressure from mass media outlets who keep bombarding us with false projections of the refugees as being an ‘Other', an infiltrator. The more we delay or extend timelines to bring in those who are in the most danger, the longer they are exposed to such danger,” Almawy said. “[The government is] claiming that it is a security screening issue and that it takes a long time, but the Toronto Pearson International Airport processed 38 million passengers last year… or 32,000 per day. That's one airport. Every single day.”

London Mayor Matt Brown has started a campaign to bring Syrian refugees to London.

“Londoners are compassionate and caring; we should give what we can to help as many families as possible. Over the next month I will work with faith leaders and community organizations to raise funds and awareness so that we can welcome Syrian refugees with open arms. The time for us to act is now,” he told AM980.

Almawy recommended reaching out to London Cross Cultural Learner Centre to volunteer.

“Let's help in any way that we can because we owe it to our refugee sisters and brothers to show them that London is a caring, welcoming and multicultural community.”

She also mentioned syrianrefugeefund.ca, a website you can access to reach out to refugees coming to London. You can also visit neverhome.ca and refugeeswelcome.ca to learn more about the realities of Canada's immigration system.

“Nobody wants to leave their home, their place of comfort. It's hard enough as it is to adapt to a new country and a new way of life. Refugees and migrants have to deal with an extensive amount of culture shock and homesickness, so it isn't a walk in the park,” Almawy said.

Remember, most of us would not be living in Canada right now if we were a nation of intolerance. Be kind to refugees just as Canadians were kind to your ancestors.