Trudeau urged to ditch deadline,
Refugee workers say rushing risks sacrificing an efficient and effective selection process
Resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees before the end of the year is a tremendous challenge, say refugee experts, who have advised prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau to consider extending the timeline to the end of 2016.
“It is possible to move that many people, but we need better advance planning to make sure the refugees have access to trauma counselling and affordable housing,” said Chris Friesen, chairman of the Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance.
With the public watching the tragedies unfolding overseas, there is pressure to accelerate the arrival of Syrian refugees to Canada. The images of Alan Kurdi, a Syrian toddler who drowned and washed up on a Turkish beach in September, horrified many Canadians.
The new government is expected to announce its plan next week. Offi- cials are exploring the possibility of having the Canadian Armed Forces airlift refugees and accommodate them temporarily in military bases.
Experts say this may not necessarily be the best approach; many refugees will be suffering from trauma and will have large families. Nonetheless, Friesen said, his organization is available “24/7 to help on the ground, even over the Christmas holidays.”
Other policy experts advise against focusing on an arbitrary deadline at the risk of sacrificing an efficient and effective refugee selection process.
“Are there 25,000 Syrian refugees who are travel ready and have been screened who are ready to come? The answer is no,” says Naomi Alboim, a former deputy minister of immigration in Ontario. “It is better to screen the refugees overseas first.”
The government could consider resettling refugees with relatives in Canada, she suggests. The system is already under strain because of the surge of interest in private sponsorship of refugees, which has created extra work for Citizenship and Immigration Canada to process more cases at a faster pace.