THE COST OF GENEROSITY
Calgarians, like other Canadians across the country, can be proud of the way in which they’ve embraced Syrian refugees. In the spirit of the greatest of Canadian traditions, families fleeing unspeakable turmoil abroad have been welcomed with open arms and invited to enjoy a better life.
The initiative has received strong support, but it’s the federal and provincial governments — supported by churches and refugee aid groups — that have been tasked with making the arrangements for the Syrians’ arrival and ensuring they’re properly supported in their earliest days.
It’s already evident, however, that both levels of government have given insufficient consideration to how the newcomers are to be accommodated in the school system. The Calgary Board of Education says it’s already out of pocket for $3 million to instruct about 430 students who have arrived since January. The Calgary Catholic School District is helping 92 refugees get started with their education in Canada.
Senior levels of governments, which have been out in front in welcoming the refugees at airports, are nowhere to be seen when it comes to accounting for these costs. That’s leaving the CBE and other school districts to divert funds from other classrooms and other programs to make up the difference.
“We’re disappointed and frustrated,” CBE board chairwoman Joy Bowen-Eyre said this week. “The number of students we’ve received is the size of a small elementary school, so the costs are quite significant, and we’re getting more students every day.”
What reasonable person in Ottawa or Edmonton would think that such large numbers of new students, many of whom don’t speak English, could be accommodated at no cost? Further, the pupils are naturally still healing from what they’ve had to endure in their young lives, and therefore require special resources.
“Because of these needs and their complexity, we’ve added special classes,” said Bowen-Eyre. “If you’re going to ensure not just adequate, but a great education system, resources have to be provided.” She’s right, of course.
There’s bound to be unforeseen missteps, such as having to load 200 refugees on buses in Hamilton, Ont., and send them to other hotels in St. Catharines because singer Garth Brooks was in town for a string of concerts and their rooms were needed for fans of the country superstar.
The Liberals also spent $6 million to update military housing for the refugees that was never used, presumably with the best of intentions.
But if the Trudeau and Notley governments are genuine about doing what’s right for the refugees — and other schoolchildren — they won’t pretend that classrooms, teachers and other resources don’t cost money.