Close X
Friday, November 8, 2024
ADVT 
National

Flights For Syrian Refugees To Canada To Start Dec. 10, Document Says

The Canadian Press, 02 Dec, 2015 11:15 AM
    OTTAWA — The first planes carrying Syrian refugees from camps overseas are expected to arrive at two of Canada's busiest airports late next week.
     
    A federal solicitation document posted Monday names Dec. 10 as the date when the first flights are planned to carry refugees from camps in Jordan and Turkey to Canadian soil.
     
    The document says those flights could continue until the end of March.
     
    The federal government plans on bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of February, with 10,000 of them arriving by the end of this month.
     
    The first group will be made up largely of privately sponsored refugees, many of whose files have been in the works for months as churches and other community groups moved to assist some of the most vulnerable people fleeing the Syrian civil war.
     
    The plan is bring those refugees into Canada on commercial flights, with military airplanes available every 48 hours if necessary in case commercial jets aren't available.
     
    The solicitation document posted Monday asks for interested air carriers to get in touch with the government by the end of this week, with the deadline landing six days before the first flights are supposed to leave from one of two cities in Turkey — Adana and Gaziantep, which is about 100 kilometres north of the Syrian city of Aleppo — and from Amman, Jordan. The flights will land at either Toronto's Pearson airport or Montreal's Trudeau airport and continue until at least Feb. 29, 2016, "but may be required later."
     
    Each aircraft has to seat at least 200 and fly direct between the locations.
     
    The document says the number of people on each flight will vary and the exact schedule, including days and times for flights, haven't been set in stone.
     
    Approximately 15,000 of the 25,000 Syrian refugees who will arrive in Canada in the coming weeks are being resettled by the federal government. They will go to dozens of municipalities across the country.
     
    The federal government estimates it will cost $678 million over the next six years to bring the refugees to Canada and help them settle. That figure doesn't include additional funding that could be necessary for provinces and territories.
     
    More than 500 officials have been assigned to work on the massive resettlement program, one of the largest of its kind in the world as it relates to the Syrian refugee crisis.
     
    Since the outbreak of the war there in 2011, the UN estimates some 4.2 million people have been displaced.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Toronto Police Seize $12 Million In Counterfeit Goods Including Blue Jays Gear

    Toronto Police Seize $12 Million In Counterfeit Goods Including Blue Jays Gear
    Toronto police say they have seized more than $12 million in counterfeit goods including Blue Jays jerseys, headphones and purses as part of an ongoing operation.

    Toronto Police Seize $12 Million In Counterfeit Goods Including Blue Jays Gear

    Winnipeg Man Pleads Guilty In Pair Of High-profile Sex Attacks, Reports Say

    Winnipeg Man Pleads Guilty In Pair Of High-profile Sex Attacks, Reports Say
    WINNIPEG — Published reports say a Winnipeg man has pleaded guilty to a pair of violent sexual assaults, including one on a teen who became a spokeswoman for the plight of missing and murdered aboriginal women.

    Winnipeg Man Pleads Guilty In Pair Of High-profile Sex Attacks, Reports Say

    Superior Court Grants Injunction That Will Postpone Quebec's Assisted Dying Law

    Superior Court Grants Injunction That Will Postpone Quebec's Assisted Dying Law
    Quebec Superior Court has granted an injunction that will postpone the implementation of a provincial law on assisted dying until at least February.

    Superior Court Grants Injunction That Will Postpone Quebec's Assisted Dying Law

    Nanaimo Pot Shops Face RCMP Crackdown As Three Dispensaries Raided

    Nanaimo Pot Shops Face RCMP Crackdown As Three Dispensaries Raided
    The warrants were served nearly three weeks after cease-and-desist letters were handed to the operators of 10 dispensaries, giving them seven days to close their doors or face possible charges.

    Nanaimo Pot Shops Face RCMP Crackdown As Three Dispensaries Raided

    Suspected Dog Poisonings Prompt Investigations By Two Ontario Police Forces

    Suspected Dog Poisonings Prompt Investigations By Two Ontario Police Forces
    TORONTO — Two Ontario police forces say they're investigating what they suspect to be deliberate attempts to poison dogs.

    Suspected Dog Poisonings Prompt Investigations By Two Ontario Police Forces

    Ontario Will Not Allow Any Community Outside Toronto To Have A Land Transfer Tax

    Ontario Will Not Allow Any Community Outside Toronto To Have A Land Transfer Tax
    TORONTO — The 444 municipalities across Ontario will not be given the same power as the city of Toronto to impose a land transfer tax.

    Ontario Will Not Allow Any Community Outside Toronto To Have A Land Transfer Tax