Canada aims to double intake of Syrian refugees next year

Ottawa’s immigration and citizenship minister John McCallum visits Amman to discuss vetting for immigration

Radi poses for a photo with his son and wife, whose names are omitted for security reasons, while waiting in an airport in Amman, Jordan, to board a plane to Canada where they will be resettled, December 20, 2015. (AP/Sam McNeil)
Radi poses for a photo with his son and wife, whose names are omitted for security reasons, while waiting in an airport in Amman, Jordan, to board a plane to Canada where they will be resettled, December 20, 2015. (AP/Sam McNeil)

AMMAN, Jordan — Canada’s minister of immigration and citizenship says the country’s resettlement program for Syrian refugees could double its intake by the end of next year to 50,000.

John McCallum was in the Jordanian capital of Amman on Sunday, meeting with Syrian families preparing to board flights to Canada. He told one family: “Everyone in Canada is waiting to meet you.”

Canada’s new Liberal government is pushing forward with its pledge to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February. McCallum says Canada hopes to settle 35,000 to 50,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016, with the UN refugee agency, the Jordanian government and the International Organization for Migration assisting with the vetting process.

McCallum also toured development projects and refugee facilities during his two-day stop in Jordan.

Canadian Minister of Immigration John McCallum, center, talks to a Syrian family soon to be resettled in Canada, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, at an airport in Amman, Jordan. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
Canadian Minister of Immigration John McCallum, center, talks to a Syrian family soon to be resettled in Canada, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, at an airport in Amman, Jordan. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.

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