Justin Trudeau justifies refugee delay saying Liberals want to 'get it right'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government won't fulfil its campaign pledge to bring 25,000 refugees to Canada by the end of the year, but justified the delay by saying it is more important to "get it right."

"We looked at the logistics, we looked at what it would take to bring them in by Jan. 1, and we had options around that," he told Metro Morning host Matt Galloway during a one on one interview in Ottawa earlier today.

"We realized that we wanted to make sure it was done absolutely right to ensure that Canadians who have been incredibly open and enthusiastic about it remain as positive about welcoming these families as they possibly could be."

But Trudeau's enthusiasm for bringing Syrians displaced by conflict to Canada has not abated, and will take place in 2016.

Trudeau said welcoming refugees is a positive thing for the country.

"This is not just about welcoming 25,000 Syrian refugees, this is about welcoming 25,000 new Canadians," he said.

He talked about giving the Syrian newcomers pathways to success in Canada, saying it isn't about simply bringing them to the country but helping them integrate with society.

"This is not about government signing a paper and bringing over refugees, this is a whole of Canada effort," he said.

'Not about security'

Despite Trudeau repeating his pledge to bring more refugees to Canada throughout the federal election campaign, some polls show a majority of Canadians do not agree with his refugee resettlement plan.

Though he said he doesn't put a lot of stock in polls, the prime minister said Canadians want to see their government as a "positive actor" on the world stage.

"This is not about security. The security is an issue we've dealt with," he said.

"This is about welcoming people who are fleeing terrorism, not bringing terrorism with them."

The Liberals have put in place a security screening program that begins overseas. Trudeau said this will allow Candians to be more reassured that refugees are not a threat.

"We want these families arriving to be welcomed, not feared," said Trudeau.

Paris attacks not a factor

The ISIS-affiliated gunmen who killed 130 people in the French capital on Nov. 13, Trudeau insisted, did not influence his decision to delay the resettlement process.

He did say that the "law of large numbers" dictates that there will be some newcomers that will be "problematic," but not to the point that Canada would send them back into a war zone.

He said the Paris attacks did affect the public psyche. Trudeau also acknowledged that in the U.S., among the public and state governors, there is a strong opposition to bringing in Syrian refugees.

"I was aware that there might be concerns when I sat down with President [Barack] Obama last week. On the contrary, he was effusive in his support of what we're doing," said Trudeau.

"He has pointed out there is more of a security risk from tourists than refugees."

Future Canadians

The government-sponsored resettlement program will initially not include unaccompanied or single adult males. Trudeau said this was a matter of the program being an "accelerated process."

He said the most vulnerable will be accepted first, and families and children fit into that group. Other groups with demonstrated vulnerabilities in the region are members of the LGBT communities in Syria, he said.

But that isn't final.

Trudeau said risk profiles come into play but screeners overseas can make judgements, and "anyone who comes up with a slightly more complex profile will simply get deferred to future consideration," he said.

'This is the story of this country'

Trudeau said he had a conversation in cabinet recently when he and several ministers pointed to Maryam Monsef, the minister of democratic institutions, who came to Canada from Afghanistan when she was 10.

"Right now there's a 10-year-old girl in a Syrian camp somewhere, and she can aspire that in 30 or 20 years she might be sitting around the cabinet table helping run an extraordinary country like Canada," he said.

Trudeau agreed the refugee resettlement program is a nation-building process.

"This is the story of this country," he said.