Defence Minister Jason Kenney is calling on the Persian Gulf countries to step up and accept more Syrian refugees, saying that a ceasefire in the conflict is unrealistic.
Kenney told CTV’s Question Period that the Syrian refugee crisis, which has generated more than four million refugees, cannot be solved without the active participation of regional governments.
“Apart from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, who deserve enormous credit for their hospitality … other countries in the region are doing little or nothing, apart from humanitarian financial support,” said Kenney. “And they say … they have no intention of changing that policy.”
Nearby Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have not resettled any Syrian refugees. For Kenney, this fact demonstrates the crisis is a “hugely complex issue” that cannot be addressed through only through resettlement.
He said the response also requires humanitarian support on the ground, a campaign against ISIS and a fight against human-smugglers.
He did not, however, endorse calls for a ceasefire, as former Supreme Court justice and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has. He said such actions are not realistic.
“Efforts to propose things like a no-fly zone or UN mandate of action have and will continue to fail because Russia has exercised its veto at the United Nations Security Council,” said Kenney.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair also dismissed the idea of immediately leading efforts for a ceasefire. He maintained his party’s commitment to pull Canadian troops out of Iraq and Syria.
“Right now we have over 60 countries involved, about a dozen of them are involved in dropping bombs, as Canada’s doing right now. We don’t think that’s going to add anything to the situation,” Mulcair told Question Period.
“Stop the flow of money, stop the flow of fighters, stop the flow of arms. Those are our priorities.”
Accepting more Syrian refugees
International Development Minister Christian Paradis announced on Saturday that the Conservative government will match Canadian donations of up to $100 million to help millions of Syrians living in turmoil.
Next week, the Conservative government is expected to lay out more of its stepped-up response to the refugee crisis. While Kenney did not outline any new details about that plan, he emphasized the need to screen all refugees coming to Canada.
Former CSIS and military official Paul Taillon said the Conservatives’ cautious approach to accepting refugees is legitimate.
“We must be very concerned because they’re coming from a war zone where you have Sunni, Shia, Alawite and various other Christian elements that are in … a civil war,” said Taillon. “So I’d be very suspect, quite frankly, of any military-aged males coming from that area.”
But former Canadian diplomat Gar Pardy says there is no way to properly screen refugees in an environment like Iraq and Syria before they reach Canada.
“It is nearly impossible to do security vetting in that environment with any degree or any expectation that you’re going to be able to identify people that you don’t want coming into your country,” said Pardy, who has been involved with the process before in his work as a diplomat and director general of consular affairs.
“We don’t have the people on the ground to do this work. We don’t have the contacts.”
Rather, Pardy suggested that officials bring the refugees to Canada and screen them upon arrival.
