> Harper cites refugee risks,

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Stephen Harper cited security concerns on Tuesday for his refusal to commit to doing more to help refugees from the Middle East.

As provinces pledged their own funds to help alleviate the crisis, Harper deflected a question about whether he would send more staff to the region to help an already overstretched bureaucracy.

Security is paramount and every potential refugee must be carefully screened, Harper said.

“We cannot open the floodgates and airlift tens of thousands of refugees out of a terrorist war zone without proper process,” Harper said during a question-and-answer session on Facebook. “That is too great a risk for Canada.”

The Conservatives have committed to 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next three years.

The Liberals say Canada should take in 25,000 Syrian refugees before next year while the New Democrats say they should bring in more than 46,000 government-sponsored refugees to Canada by 2019.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is promising more staff as well as the creation of a Syrian refugee co-ordinator position to oversee refugee processing efforts.

The Liberals have pledged an additional $100 million this fiscal year for refugee processing as well as for sponsorship and settlement services in Canada.