NDP reaction to the government refugees plan

NDP Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship critic Jenny Kwan issued the following statement in reaction to the government’s refugee plan:

“New Democrats are pleased the Government of Canada has finally released the long-awaited plan on Syrian refugee resettlement.

However, instead of resettling 25,000 government-assisted refugees by the end of year, the Liberals are now confirming only 10,000 refugees will be accepted before January 1st. Their plan now calls for ten thousand fewer government-sponsored refugees than they promised during the election campaign.

New Democrats are also worried that after promising to accept refugees based on need; Liberals are continuing the practice of picking and choosing refugees. The costs have now grown to more than three times what the Liberals earmarked in their platform and today’s figures don’t include compensation for extra costs being paid by the provinces.

New Democrats have been focused on getting refugees out of harm’s way and resettled into Canada. We hope that these concerns will be addressed as we move forward. The NDP, as the progressive opposition, stands willing and able, as always, to help.”