220 Syrian refugees heading to Gatineau by end of February
A day after the federal government offered details on its Syrian refugee plan, the Quebec government revealed its own $29 million plan to take in thousands of refugees.
Quebec will welcome more than 7,300 Syrians before the end of February. That includes more than 200 in the Gatineau area.
One hundred will arrive in the region before New Year's Day, while another 120 will come in a second wave before February 29, 2016.
Most will be government-assisted refugees (GARs); only 50 will be privately-sponsored refugees (PSRs).
Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pednaud-Jobin said settlement agencies in his city had been prepared for as many as 800 and he was hoping to get around that many, saying he sees refugees as a net benefit for his community.
"Some people look at the risk, we look at the advantage of welcoming those people."
Local settlement agency Accueil Parrainage Outaouais had told the CBC it could take on 105 refugees before Christmas, so the number is well within its capacity.
"Gatineau has a reality, we have a retention rate of 98 per cent of the immigrants that come into Gatineau because the economy is good, because our community is very welcoming, so I think it gives us a little more of a responsibility to welcome them."
All refugees will receive permanent residency visas and will be able to work when they arrive, however the federal government is asking GARs to take advantage of free language courses and job training during the first year when they will be receiving government assistance cheques.
The Quebec government has a special arrangement with the federal government to handle its own refugee distribution, which is why it has released its numbers while other regions of the country are still waiting to hear from the federal government.
In Ottawa, Mayor Jim Watson said he can only speculate on the total number of refugees coming there.
"Based on a per capita basis, we're expecting anywhere from 800 to 2,000 individuals we can accomodate."
The first planes are expected to arrive in Montreal and Toronto beginning Dec. 1.
