With Syria’s civil war having passed the three-year mark, Canada’s policy on accepting Syrian refugees is coming under scrutiny. It’s clear Canada has failed on this issue.
Writing in the
Toronto Star recently, Liberal MP John McCallum noted that despite a federal vow to give priority to Syrian refugees and admit 1,300 of them by the end of this year, only 10 of them had so far arrived in Canada as of a month ago. The progress so far reflects Canada’s slow-moving refugee system, something the government needs to move quickly to fix in light of the humanitarian crisis in Syria.
The situation in Syria has deteriorated to such an extent that the United Nations decided in January to stop reporting the death toll there as conditions on the ground made it too difficult to accurately estimate the numbers. But as for refugees, the numbers of Syrians fleeing to Lebanon alone has passed the one-million mark, according to a report this month from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Refugees from Syria now equal almost a quarter of the resident population, according to the UNHCR.
There are three main ways countries like Canada can help Syrians suffering as the civil war drags on: financial humanitarian assistance in the Middle East, help to the rebel groups, and taking in refugees. Western nations have legitimately been careful about helping rebel groups given the concerns about the long-term implications of assistance to those parts of the resistance movement with connections to extremists. When it comes to financial help, Canada has a decent record. According to federal government information on its Syrian activities earlier this year, Canada has committed more than $350 million to international humanitarian assistance efforts in Syria and neighbouring countries since the start of the conflict. It could and probably should do more, but the amounts provided so far are reasonable.
But on refugees, Canada has fallen short. While it has accepted some Syrian refugees outside of its promise to prioritize admitting 1,300 of them this year, the need is far greater and urgent. As McCallum noted, Canada has launched major refugee efforts in the past, most notably following the invasion of Hungary by the Soviet Union in 1956. While it may not be realistic to expect an effort of that scale by this government, it’s entirely legitimate to expect it to live up to its commitments by removing the bureaucratic roadblocks in the immigration system. And beyond that, Canada has a moral duty to do more.
—
Glenn Kauth
