The Current

Immigration Minister justifies changes to Syrian refugee plan

Canada's deadline to welcome 25,000 is no longer the end of December but now March. And all refugees under this program will have been fully screened in the countries surrounding Syria before coming to Canada. Why has the original plan changed? Minister John McCallum gives us the details.
Canada's Immigration Minister John McCallum says 10-thousand refugees will be welcomed before the end of this year, down from the original pledge of 25-thousand but with assurances that the rest are to follow by February. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
"We aim for 10,000 refugees to be resettled in Canada by the end of December 2015. The remaining 15,000 refugees, it is our goal that they will be resettled in Canada in January and February of 2016."-  Jane Philpott, federal health minister on Canada's Syrian refugee plan

The headline was in the numbers:

Ten thousand refugees before the end of this year, down from the original pledge of 25,000, but with assurances that the rest are to follow early in the new year.

The Conservative government brought in 1300 Syrian refugees before March of this year. (Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)

And beyond that big headline, many important questions remain.

John McCallum, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, joined Anna Maria from Ottawa to provide some details. 

The Conservative party's critic on Public Safety Erin O'Toole also joined us to share his reaction to the newly unveiled Liberal refugee plan.
 

What do you think of the government's plan for settling Syrian refugees in Canada?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Lara O'Brien, Ines Colabrese and Liz Hoath.