PM Trudeau: Canada welcomes refugees

CANADA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by US President Donald Trump: Canada will welcome you.

He says he also intends to talk to Trump about the success of Canada’s refugee policy.

Trudeau reacted to Trump’s visa ban for people from certain Muslim-majority countries by tweeting yesterday: ``To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength (hash)WelcomeToCanada.’’

Trudeau also posted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto’s airport in late 2015. Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected.

A spokeswoman for Trudeau said he has a message for Trump.

``The Prime Minister is looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada’s immigration and refugee policy with the President when they next speak,’’ spokeswoman Kate Purchase said.

Trudeau is expected to the visit the White House soon.

The prime minister has refrained from criticising Trump to avoid offending the new president. Canada wants to avoid becoming a target like Mexico has. More than 75 perc ent of Canada’s exports go to the US.

Brad Wall, the conservative premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, offered his support to Trudeau.

``Sask has welcomed approx 2000 refugees this past year,’’ Wall posted on Twitter. ``We stand ready to assist fed gov’t re: anyone stranded by the US ban.’’

Toronto Mayor John Tory also weighed in, noting that the city is the most diverse in the world.

``We understand that as Canadians we are almost all immigrants, and that no one should be excluded on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality,’’ Tory said in a statement. -AP