Refugee plan to cost $1.2B over six years, document says

OTTAWA— The cost of the government’s plan to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees is pegged at $1.2 billion over the next six years, according to a government document obtained by The Canadian Press.

The document lays out the proposed funding model that says $876.7 million would be needed in this fiscal year alone.

Some of that cost will be covered by $16.6 million announced by the previous government in September and $100 million of that would come out of an existing pool of funds to respond to international crises.

The document suggests the Immigration Department would need $528.4 million this year, and Defence would need $98.7 million. What’s not clear is whether the cash relates to the year-end target to bring in that many Syrians in total, or the Liberals’ promise the government would settle that many over a longer time period.