READY TO HELP
In response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Europe, Ontario pledges $10.5 million to open doors to 10,000 Syrian refugees
QUEBEC CITY— Ontario will spend $10.5 million to open the province’s doors to 10,000 Syrian refugees, the Star has learned.
Premier Kathleen Wynne, who will make an official announcement on Saturday at the COSTI immigrant services office on College St., said “the desperate situation” had been building for months.
“So to see this child, it was tragic and hard not relate to your own children, to relate to your own grandchildren,” Wynne said in an interview here Friday, referring to the images of drowned toddler Alan Kurdi, which shocked the world and spurred calls for action.
“There are moments in political life where you just think this is not good enough. We have to now do more. We have to push the system, because the system’s clearly not working.”
Sources say the Ontario government needs Ottawa to expedite the arrival of the refugees while helping to ensure security is kept tight enough that no terrorists slip into the country.
Likening the humanitarian crisis to a natural disaster, like a tsunami or a flood or a huge forest fire, Wynne said public officials “have to go above and beyond” because exceptional circumstances demand it.
To that end, senior government officials confided that the premier will earmark $8.5 million to help bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to Ontario over the next two years.
That’s money from a new fund that will “backstop” churches, non-governmental organizations, and charities in their efforts to sponsor refugees.
The province cannot directly sponsor refugees under the current process, but Queen’s Park is hopeful that guaranteeing the funding will prove to the federal government that Ontario has “the capacity” to accept more newcomers.
Ontarians ‘have to go above and beyond’ to assist people fleeing danger: Wynne
At the same time, Ontario will immediately donate $1 million each to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme for relief efforts overseas.
The $10.5 million is in addition to the $330,000 that Queen’s Park has already committed to Lifeline Syria, the Toronto organization that is helping resettle refugees.
In her interview with the Star, Wynne said Ontario has a rich tradition of welcoming refugees, whether it be from Hungary in 1956 or Vietnam in 1979.
“We have had a reputation because of our history and because of who we are—because we’re made up of wave after wave of immigrants,” the premier said here after a joint cabinet meeting with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and their ministers.
Couillard, whose province enjoys more autonomy over its immigration than Ontario, said Quebec is tripling the number of Syrian refugees it accepts this year to more than 3,600.
“For this, we need the active collaboration of the federal government. We need to have health and security clearance for those people. Again, we would not compromise our security,” the Quebec premier said.
“I do understand the concern that people have around security. These people are living in a very dangerous place with terrorist groups, of course, all among them. So we’re not naive, we know that we have to be careful. “But we can do both — we can be hospitable and open our arms, but at the same time we can be prudent and careful. And for this we need the ac- tive collaboration of the federal government.”
The urgency of the situation and the horrifying pictures of refugees scrambling to flee has propelled the Syrian situation to forefront of the Oct. 19 election. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has said Canada will accept 10,000 more refugees over four years in addition to an earlier commitment to help 11,300 people. Canada welcomes around 14,000 refugees annually from around the world. NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair has pledge to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees within two months of the election. The NDP has promised to help resettle 46,000 Syrians in Canada over four years.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau wants to immediately accept 25,000 refugees.
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark, meanwhile, has earmarked $1 million to assist around 1,000 refugees.