Syrian refugee crisis: P.E.I. must 'step up,' says NDP Leader Mike Redmond

P.E.I. isn't doing enough to help refugees fleeing Syria, says the province's NDP Leader Mike Redmond.

He wants Premier Wade MacLauchlan to call an emergency sitting of the P.E.I. Legislature to address the refugee crisis.

Redmond says the premier needs to put pressure on the federal government to allow more refugees to enter the country.

"I think it's our premier's responsibility to step up especially in a time of crisis. It's a shameful act when it takes a country to react to a picture of a boy on a beach when we know that 51 million people have been displaced by a humanitarian crisis as refugees in war or human rights abuses," said Redmond.

Redmond was referring to Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi, whose body washed up on a Turkish beach last week as he and his family died trying to reach Greece.

"So this is the time when we are measured as a people. Our moral response will be our legacy," said Redmond.

In an e-mail, the province said it's helping Islanders and community organizations working to bring refugees to the Island and will provide financial assistance where necessary.