Conservatives failing Syrian refugees

The inadequate global response to Syrian refugee crisis is placing innocent lives at risk, according to a new report which reveals neighbouring countries are completely overwhelmed by refugees fleeing ISIL and Syria’s civil war. The NDP is calling on the government to do more to help Syrian refugees immediately.

“With three million Syrian refugees and millions more displaced within Syria, the government’s response has been to help only 1,300 refugees,” said NDP critic for Citizenship and Immigration Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe (Pierrefonds-Dollard). “The Conservatives seem to be completely lacking any sense of urgency about this crisis. According to Canadian refugee groups, of the 1,300 Syrian refugees, only a fraction are in Canada, it’s unbelievable.”

The joint report by the Norwegian Refugee Council and the International Rescue Committee linked the increasing difficulties faced by Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq in dealing with large numbers of Syrian refugees to the tiny number of refugees taken by developed countries. Not only has Canada only committed to resettling a very small number of refugees, but the government has been very slow to actually get any Syrian refugees here in Canada.

“In the past, Canada really rose to the measure of a crisis, taking in large numbers of refugees from Vietnam or Iraq,” added NDP Multiculturalism critic Andrew Cash (Davenport). “Unfortunately, the Conservatives have turned their back on our proud heritage and renounced the Canadian value of helping those in need.”