Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has invited all opposition leaders to join him in welcoming Syrian refugees who will be arriving on the first flight to Toronto Thursday night.
“We’ve actually invited all opposition leaders to join us in welcoming the new Syrian refugees – the new Canadians – as they arrive at Pearson airport tomorrow night,” he told reporters Wednesday.
The first airlift of refugees is scheduled to arrive in Toronto at 9:15 p.m. Thursday. A second plane carrying refugees will arrive Saturday in Montreal, Trudeau told the House of Commons during question period.
“Resettling refugees demonstrates our commitment to Canadians and to the world that Canada understands that we can and must do more,” he told the House.
The first two flights will involve military aircraft and bring in approximately 300 privately-sponsored Syrian refugees, the government said in a news release. The rest of the refugees arriving in December are expected to be transported on chartered flights.
More than 400 Syrian refugees have already arrived in Canada between Nov. 4 and Dec. 7. As of Dec. 7, nearly 12,000 refugee resettlement applications were in progress, federal officials said.
Earlier Wednesday, the government announced it has restored full health care for refugees and will provide more funding for the agencies that will help resettle the wave of Syrians who will be making their way to Canada.
Immigration Minister John McCallum said 36 refugee resettlement organizations in Canada will receive a 25 per cent increase in funding this year.
McCallum said the boost of $3.6 million will help ensure the thousands of Syrians coming to Canada will receive the support they need.
He also said both basic and supplemental health benefits will be available to the incoming refugees.
"My department will be sending out a notice to the medical community (and) to provincial health ministers to make sure everybody is aware of this," he said.
McCallum said in November that the government would "expeditiously" reinstate full health care for refugees, a service that suffered drastic cuts under Stephen Harper's Conservative government.
The cuts sparked outrage from several health groups across the country. A federal court later called the policy "cruel and unusual" and overturned it, forcing the Conservatives to restore some essential health-care benefits.
The Liberals have promised to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year and an additional 15,000 by the end of February.
McCallum said the first wave of refugees will be coming from Lebanon and Jordan, as efforts to identify refugees in Turkey have stalled.
"We are not nearly as far advanced in Turkey as in the other countries, so it is questionable whether we will receive refugees from Turkey before Dec. 31," he said.
McCallum said the United Nation's refugee agency, the UNHCR, is not working in Turkey, which makes identifying refugees who qualify to come to Canada more challenging.
McCallum said he's confident Canadians will offer incoming refugees a warm welcome.
"This is a great moment for Canada," he said. "Here we have 25,000 human beings caught in the scourge of a vicious civil war and terrorist attacks by ISIS and we are bringing these people from the horrible world in which they live to our wonderful country."
