Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year.Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Canadians are expected to learn by month's end where some 25,000 Syrian refugees will settle, but some are already taking issue with a suggestion by B.C.'s Premier that some should head to the province's smaller, northeastern communities.
Premier Christy Clark made her comments over the weekend, telling CTV's Question Period that refugees should settle in communities where they will have the best chance of succeeding.
"That means not all of them, whatever the number is, would be best settled in the city of Vancouver, where housing is really expensive, where jobs may not be as plentiful," Ms. Clark said. "Some should be up in the northeast, where they've got almost zero unemployment and the cost of housing is a lot lower."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year. Historically, British Columbia accepts between 10 per cent and 12 per cent of government-assisted refugees, meaning the province can expect between 2,500 and 3,000 this time around, said Chris Friesen, director of settlement services at the Immigration Services Society of B.C.
Typically, 85 per cent of settlement in B.C. is in five municipalities: Surrey, Coquitlam, Burnaby, New Westminster and Vancouver.
Mr. Friesen said most refugees usually first settle in urban centres because of the scarcity of specialized resources – language skills, trauma counselling, medical resources – in rural areas.
In Fort St. John, resident Bailie Hambrook started an online petition calling for a referendum in northeast B.C. on the matter, citing concerns over insufficient resources and possible security lapses.
"People in the northeast are uncomfortable with the idea of losing more jobs and welcoming refugees that have not gone through a screening process into our small communities," the petition states. "Worries about the medical crisis currently in the communities. And lack of employment show that refugees located in the area may not get their best start here."
In an interview on Tuesday, Ms. Hambrook said that an economic downtown in the oil and gas boom town means the unemployment rate is currently rising. She also questioned the government's ability to thoroughly screen all incoming refugees by the year's end.
"I feel that most of these people are going to be perfectly safe – there's going to be no need to fear them – but there are always bad apples in a group," she said. "We need to ensure they don't have any terrorist backgrounds of any sort and we need to make sure they're not bringing any exotic diseases here."
On Tuesday, several members of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities – including president Raymond Louie, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and Saskatoon Councillor Darren Hill – met with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister John McCallum in Ottawa to discuss the next steps. A detailed plan, including funding allocations and a breakdown of refugee numbers, is expected in the near future.
Mr. Louie, who is also a Vancouver city councillor, said Mr. McCallum has prioritized the health and safety of all involved. Those with concerns should have faith in the government screening process and consider the dire situation in Syria that refugees are fleeing from, he said.
"The people that are undertaking these terrorist acts that are now on the front pages of our newspapers, these are the people that these refugees are running away from," he said.
Mr. Louie added that most refugees will likely settle in urban hubs, though those with greater capacity and skill sets could then be relocated to more remote regions.
Mr. Friesen said the next few months will be a "defining moment for Canadians."
"The Syrians are to today's generation what our generation was with the Vietnamese boat people. This has now become the great Canadian national project that Canadians from coast to coast to coast – whatever age, faith, socioeconomic background – everybody, by and large, is embracing this bold humanitarian measure."
Bob Zimmer, Conservative MP for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, sent a letter to Mr. Trudeau on Tuesday expressing concern over the tight timeline.
"I believe that the vast majority of Canadians, including myself, share in your desire to help those fleeing the violence in their homeland," he wrote. "However, we must ensure that every possible safety precaution is taken and all appropriate security procedures are in place to ensure those entering Canada do not pose a threat to our communities. Unfortunately, this takes time."
Andrea Woo