MONTREAL — Immigration Minister John McCallum says progress is being made on finding housing for Syrian refugees.
Speaking at a funding announcement in Montreal today, McCallum said 69 per cent of the refugees outside Quebec have found permanent accommodation.
He says that's up from 52 per cent just a few weeks ago and represents good progress.
The numbers don't include Quebec, which has its own program and where housing hasn't created the same dilemmas as in the rest of the country.
McCallum says the problem was most pronounced in larger cities like Vancouver and Toronto, which were at just 30 per cent a couple of weeks ago but are now at 50 per cent.
The immigration minister says almost all should be housed by the end of April and certainly all by end of June.
McCallum was speaking at the Foundation of Greater Montreal's announcement of $750,000 to help local groups that are helping Syrian refugees.
The money has been raised by the private sector and will be doled out by the Red Cross.
The next step will involve finding jobs for refugees and McCallum is speaking with industry representatives in Halifax, Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver this week.
He says he's confident that refugees, with a bit of language training, will be able to find work.
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