Feds on nationwide hunt for housing for 25,000 refugees

Military bases in Ontario, Quebec part of plan to find ‘interim lodging’ for wave of newcomers

OTTAWA— The federal government is searching for temporary winter housing for thousands even as the military mobilizes to make room for the expected influx of 25,000 Syrian refugees by year’s end.

Public Works is establishing a list of facilities that can provide accommodations for large groups of Syrians fleeing their country’s civil war, according to a notice posted Thursday morning.

The sites will have to accommodate between 500 and 3,000 people each for as long as three months, beginning in early December, and be completely self-contained — including energy generation, waste management, and provide space for an information centre and offices for management personnel.

“The Government of Canada is taking the necessary steps to prepare for the arrival of Syrian refugees,” said Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesperson for Public Works, in a short statement to the Star Thursday evening.

At the same time, the Canadian military is dispatching troops, winterizing facilities and peering less than two weeks in the future when planeloads of Syrians are expected to begin arriving in their new home.

The military has already deployed a dozen personnel to Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon — the sites of the United Nations’ camps Canada is looking to draw refugees from — to co-ordinate with other government personnel involved in the resettlement operation.

But the biggest flurry of activity is occurring on Canadian soil. A National Defence spokesperson confirmed Thursday that military bases in Ontario and Quebec have already been designated as “interim lodging” for new arrivals.

CFB Trenton, in eastern Ontario and the military’s main transportation hub, has pledged to take in 10,000 of the 25,000 refugees. CFB Petawawa, which is located halfway between Ottawa and North Bay, is the largest base in the country.

There are reports and murmurings that other bases are preparing to be called into service as well, including CFB Gagetown, which housed hundreds of refugees from Kosovo upon their arrival in Canada in 1999, CFB Edmonton, and even CFB Cold Lake, the remote air force base 300 kilometres northeast of the Alberta capital.

A government source told the Star that a detailed briefing on the government’s plans is expected next week.

Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council of Refugees, is concerned military bases are not an ideal place to house refugees fleeing a war zone.

But Dench said that wherever the refugees land, it will be an improvement on the precarious situation in which they currently find themselves.

“We’ve heard . . . about Syrians who have already arrived, that they find there’s a fairly high level of need in terms of mental-health concerns,” Dench said in an interview. “So that’s again just reinforcing why having a non-military reception would be ideal, if possible.”

The Liberals have kept details of their resettlement plan close to the chest, as Immigration John McCallum continues to talk with his provincial counterparts.

A government source told the Star that the plan is still being finalized, and remains fluid as they continue to review options to bring the refugees in both quickly and with due attention to public safety risks. Both RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson and CSIS Director Michel Coulombe told reporters Wednesday that they’re confident the security screening in place is adequate to the task.

Provincial ministers are also preparing for the task of assisting the refugees with both shelter and services when they arrive.

At Queen’s Park, Health Minister Eric Hoskins, who co-chairs a new ad hoc cabinet committee on refugees, confirmed Ontario is gearing up to welcome the newcomers.

“It’s a significant number that we’re going to receive . . . and we will be prepared,” said Hoskins, who worked in refugee camps for a decade in the Middle East and North Africa.

“We’re well into our planning process. We have the capacity — we have tremendous expertise in receiving refugees in this province, including providing the necessary support for health care.” With files from Robert Benzie and Ben Spurr