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Logistical challenge of Syrian refugee commitment hits home

A crying Syrian refugee child is carried by a volunteer after arriving in a raft at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast, October 20, 2015. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is sticking to his commitment to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada though the reality is setting in and the goal posts shifting.

Heightened security concerns from some following the recent terror attacks in Paris and the immense logistical challenge are weighing on Trudeau’s initial commitment that the 25,000 would be sponsored by government and in Canada by the end of the year.

“It’s a massive undertaking,” says Kyle Matthews, a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute who has worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Details of the plan have yet to be released but Matthews points out that Canada normally accepts about 12,000 refugees per year.

“This is two years’ worth of refugees done in about a five-week period, so it’s going to be a real challenge to meet that deadline,” he says.

Those who will be resettled in Canada will come from refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

There are two streams of refugees into Canada: those sponsored by government and those sponsored privately.

Trudeau initially said the 25,000 refugees would be government-sponsored – the most expedited process. Now Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister John McCallum says some may be privately sponsored.

Theodora Jean, spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, says “most” of the refugees will be government-sponsored.

But she says families and individuals sponsored privately as part of the previous government’s commitment to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by next fall will form part of the “short-term objective.”

“Additional government-assisted refugees will arrive into the new year as the government meets a specific target of 25,000 government-assisted Syrian refugees,” she tells Yahoo Canada News.

“More details regarding this initiative will be released in the coming days.”

Between Jan. 1, 2014 and Nov. 3, 3,089 Syrian refugees arrived in Canada.

The UNHCR does the initial screening of asylum seekers, including a second round of interviews with the small percentage who may come to Canada.

A third round of interviews is conducted by Canadian visa officers on the ground in the region, including screening with databases from the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and CSIS.

“I think it’s going to be a real challenge for the government to do all the security and health screening and move them here within the next five or six weeks,” Matthews says.

Jean says security screening is paramount.

“The government has reiterated its commitment to resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees. This will be accomplished without compromising security,” she says.

Once the selections are done, there is the question of where the refugees will go.

Affordable housing is an issue across the country, Matthews says, and there has already been pushback from some mayors in Quebec who say they don’t have enough.

There are reports that military bases can be used to house the refugees. Another report suggests an unused hospital in Ontario could be pressed into use.

Reports in B.C. newspapers question whether there are enough schools to accommodate refugee children.

“There are a whole host of logistical and integration issues that haven’t fully been thought out,” Matthews says.

The Ontario government says it can accommodate 10,000 refugees and Quebec, 6,000. British Columbia has suggested 2,700 can come to the westernmost province and Alberta, between 2,500 and 3,000.

Prince Edward Island officials have indicated 100 refugees can make their new homes in the Atlantic province.

While many other provinces have indicated open doors, most have not put a number on the table.

The one exception so far is Saskatchewan, where Premier Brad Wall has appealed to the prime minister to delay the plan in light of the Paris attacks.

Peter Goodspeed, spokesman for the group Lifeline Syria, says about 1,200 people in 370 sponsorship groups have contacted them since they launched June 17.

Any group of five or more can sponsor a refugee, though there is a list of 97 approved “sponsorship agreement holders” in Canada, outside of Quebec, which has its own resettlement process. These are groups that are known to officials and experienced in the process.

Sponsors agree to provide settlement assistance and cover the cost of food, rent and day-to-day expenses, normally for a year. The estimated cost ranges from $12,600 a year for one individual to $27,000 for a family of four, depending on the location.

Goodspeed says the 25,000 commitment from the Liberal government should be over and above the privately sponsored refugees.

“Both streams will continue to come to Canada and if necessary to meet its target the government’s 25,000 may not be filled until later in the New Year,” he says. “It’s more a moving target than a rigid deadline.”

Matthews suggests a flexible deadline may be more realistic. Canada can resettle 25,000 refugees, he says.

“Whether it’s doable in that specific time period, I’m not really convinced.”