Canadian Syrian refugee plan lauded south of the border

There may be some lingering questions at home but Canada’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis is garnering praise south of the border.

A recent editorial by the Washington Post lauds Canada’s “generous response” in an article entitled “Canada gets it right on Syrian refugees.”

The newspaper calls the Canadian response “a rebuke to the senseless xenophobia heard lately in the United States, and [one] that should serve as a model.”

The United States has been seized with Syrian refugee angst for some time but the Paris terror attacks on Nov. 13 upped the ante considerably.

Republican presidential candidates, in particular, have outdone themselves trying to outdo one another on rabid anti-refugee rhetoric: Ben Carson made a bizarre parallel to “rabid dogs” in the neighbourhood; Ted Cruz called resettlement of Syrian refugees “lunacy.”

Jeb Bush says maybe some Syrians can come to the U.S. — but only Christians — while Donald Trump, who previously suggested special ID identifying Muslims, says refugees could be “Trojan horses” for terrorists and none should be allowed into the U.S.

Canada, the Post says, “is a crazy quilt of immigrant communities that are diverse, vibrant and a source of national strength.”

The Post notes that 27 Republican governors have written to President Barack Obama asking him to suspend the plan to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. next year.

“Canada just put Chris Christie (and New Jersey) to shame,” declares Esquire magazine.

The story: the Canadian government — and media — response to the fearmongering south of the border.

In particular, it highlights the stark contrast to Christie, who has directed the state human services department to not resettle any Syrian refugees bound for New Jersey and instructed non-profit organizations to notify state officials of any they place.

Just how much real-world significance Christie’s instructions have appear to be debatable, since the U.S. state department has jurisdiction over refugee resettlement, the magazine points out.

​“The true North remains, with some exceptions, strong and free. New Jersey? Not so much,” it says.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has offered his “deepest gratitude” to Canada and Canadians for the response, which included a pledge of $100 million for refugee relief efforts in addition to the promise to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees.

“Canada has broken new ground. With the war in Syria continuing unabated, we asked Canadians to join with us in a spirit of solidarity and to contribute to the resources we need to do the job — Canada has responded,” Furio De Angelis, the UNHCR Representative in Canada, says in a statement issued late last week.

The federal government has extended its original deadline of bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year. The aim is now to complete the commitment by the end of February, with 10,000 refugees Canada-bound by the end of this year.

A refugee processing centre opened in Jordan on the weekend in addition to the civil servants already on the ground in the region.

Nearly 3,100 Syrian refugees arrived in Canada from Jan. 1, 2014 to Nov. 3, 2015.