Up to 2,300 Syrian refugees expected in Calgary over the next six to eight weeks

[taco.vidal]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...haos-1.3314646

At least vacancy rates are higher today than in the recent past, although it still might be hard to find affordable housing.

Housing a big influx of Syrian families in a short amount of time could result in "chaos," the head of an immigrant services society says.

The Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) is preparing for the arrival up to 2,300 Syrian refugees in Calgary — possibly over the next six to eight weeks.

The typical number of refugees who arrive in Calgary is 900 to 1,100 people over the course of a year.

"It will be chaos," said Fariborz Birjandian, who heads CCIS — the largest immigration organization in southern Alberta.

The Liberal government has committed to taking in 25,000 Syrian refugees — the largest influx of migrants in Canadian history — by the end of the year.

At least 3,000 are expected to arrive in communities across Alberta.

Another side to this is that refugees from other regions who have been waiting years in some cases will continue to have to wait longer to get into Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...nger-1.3313833

Members of a group that helps sponsor and settle refugees worry about what will happen to the thousands of refugees already waiting to come to Manitoba when Syrian refugees start arriving.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada before the end of the year.

Manitoba social agencies gear up for Syrian refugee arrival
Winnipeg NEEDS Centre helps refugee youth integrate into society
Tom Denton, executive director of administration and sponsorship for Hospitality House Refugee Ministry, said he welcomes the Syrian refugees, but wonders what will happen to those already waiting to come to Canada.

"In fact, there's about 22,000 or 23,000 non-Syrian, non-Iraqi refugees that have been sponsored and have been waiting for years, like typically four to five years. Ourselves, we're landing about 50 a month here in Winnipeg, and most of them have been waiting for four or five, even eight years to get here," Denton said.

Over the past several years there have been restrictions on the number of refugees allowed into the country.

[llwhiteoutll]

Unfortunately for those who have been waiting after going through the process, their arrival does not serve a political purpose.

Should be interesting to watch the gongshow, not sure where you find accomodations for a family of four for $700/month in Calgary.

[Dion]

I've talked with some immigrant familes who are not happy with what Trudeau is doing. They had to go through years of legal processes and security checks to get into Canada and feel short tracking the process just to get all those Syrians here is not fair.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Dion

I've talked with some immigrant familes who are not happy with what Trudeau is doing. They had to go through years of legal processes and security checks to get into Canada and feel short tracking the process just to get all those Syrians here is not fair.

And were those immigrants you spoke with refugees who were fleeing for their lives?

[GGG]

I think it's good we are accelerating the Syrian refugees. You have a large need and it's good to see us filling it. In general we should take the maximum number our system can support and previous imposed limits wasn't good policy. I do hope they leave the target as is but recognize that missing the target and doing it sustainably is more important then scoring political points.

I don't particularly care that other immigrants arebeing upset because these people are getting preferential treatment.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by Dion

I've talked with some immigrant familes who are not happy with what Trudeau is doing. They had to go through years of legal processes and security checks to get into Canada and feel short tracking the process just to get all those Syrians here is not fair.

Huge difference between immigrants and refugees.

There is no benefit to making refugees wait a long time, because they are often living in camps where disease and crime are rampant. The longer people stay in such circumstances, the greater chance they will develop issues which will lead to long term problems integrating into their new home. Due diligence needs to be done as quickly as possible.

[btimbit]

I'm 100% for taking in refugees but this seems like an overwhelming number. I just hope the support for them doesnt end up limited over it

[Caged Great]

This makes me proud to be Canadian. Yes, there will be some issues, but you deal with it as best you can. Having a helping hand extended to those that are in need is what Canada should be all about.

[Swift]

Originally Posted by Dion

I've talked with some immigrant familes who are not happy with what Trudeau is doing. They had to go through years of legal processes and security checks to get into Canada and feel short tracking the process just to get all those Syrians here is not fair.

I'm an immigrant who went through the years of red tape, security checks and a few thousand dollars, and I'm perfectly fine with accepting refugees, so I guess that cancels out your buddies' arguments.

And as has been pointed out, "refugee" does not equal "immigrant". If I didn't get residency here, while it would've been personally terrible, I still would've had a perfectly acceptable life to go back to. Refugees obviously don't.

[Johnny199r]

I'm glad we're taking in Syrian refugees. I wonder why we're not talking Iraqi refugees too?

[llwhiteoutll]

So we can somehow afford to take in 25,000 refugees, but we can't take care of the tens of thousands of Canadians that need help? Why do these folks take priority over those already here who need help?

And the issues Europe is now facing are not minor.

[EldrickOnIce]

The question is howinthehell, even through the combined efforts of all involved, agencies will manage to deploy the necessary resources (including human resources) to settle these numbers.

[flylock shox]

These numbers aren't big for a country with Canada's size and wealth. The biggest issues will be concentration and location of the refugees who arive.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

So we can somehow afford to take in 25,000 refugees, but we can't take care of the tens of thousands of Canadians that need help? Why do these folks take priority over those already here who need help?

And the issues Europe is now facing are not minor.

We absolutely could afford to help the people in Canada who need it, we simply choose not to because, as voters and taxpayers, we've decided there are more important issues. Such as the (this is the smallest number I could find, other estimates place it much higher) $211 million for oil and gas subsidies in 2014.

source: http://www.albertaoilmagazine.com/2014/07/giver-taker/

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

I'm glad we're taking in Syrian refugees. I wonder why we're not talking Iraqi refugees too?

We are...

Of our commitment to resettle 23,000 Iraqi refugees, a total of 23,218 have been resettled in Canada as of November 2, 2015, through the government-assisted and privately sponsored refugee programs. The vast majority of these Iraqi refugees have been resettled from their last place of refuge, Syria.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugee...a-response.asp

[Looch City]

Great, more minorities and less jobs for us true Canadians.

[Red Potato Standing By]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

So we can somehow afford to take in 25,000 refugees, but we can't take care of the tens of thousands of Canadians that need help? Why do these folks take priority over those already here who need help?

And the issues Europe is now facing are not minor.

there are programs in canada for those thousands of people. it is called welfare.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

Great, more minorities and less jobs for us true Old Stock Canadians.

Fixed.

[To Be Quite Honest]

This is an outrageous!

Soon they'll out breed us and we'll have no more beer and more stonings!

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

Great, more minorities and less jobs for us true Canadians.

Hey now. We totally need some warm bodies for this new NDP payout scheme they've got. Just need 100 to hit the max and run away with a quick $500,000.