Premier says no firm plan yet on how many Syrian refugees will be welcomed in Alberta

Premier Rachel Notley doesn’t appear to have a plan yet on how many Syrian refugees will be welcomed in Alberta, but she adds they’re looking into the matter.

During a news conference on the economy Friday morning in Calgary, Notley was asked about refugees after three other provinces revealed their plans in recent days.

It’s all in a bid to help the incoming Liberal government reach its goal of accepting 25,000 refugees by year’s end.

“That’s a really good question and there are in fact discussions going on about that very issue in Alberta and it would be premature for me to bust out with a number until I’ve had a chance to talk to the appropriate cabinet ministers whose obligations would be impacted by that decision,” she said.

“But we’re very aware that that is something that the federal government is looking at moving on and that they’ve asked all provinces to think about how many they can take and we’re in the process of deliberating what we can take,” said the Premier.

The Edmonton MLA had been an outspoken advocate for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to do more and added Albertans will likely be taking more.

What that number is though, is still unclear.

Ontario has committed to spending $10.5 million in a bid to welcome 10,000 refugees, Québec has said it will accept 3,650 this year and an equivalent number next year bringing their total to 7,300 by 2016, while Nova Scotia revealed it’s holding immigration summits in a bid to boost it’s own population.

Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) Fariborz Birjandian says if history is any indication, he anticipates that number will be roughly 12 per cent or 3,300 in Alberta.

“We’ve already got a responsive refugee process in Canada, Alberta gets about 12 per cent of the total annual 6,000 refugees that are sponsored by the federal government,” says Birjandian. “The province, I have to give them credit because about two months ago when the issue came up and the new government, they started actually looking at the map of Alberta to see where are the refugees going.”

According to CCIS, we have 5 centres in Alberta, Calgary, Edmonton, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Red Deer, that have capacity and receive refugees on a regular basis.

“We have some resources from the province to mobilize these five communities and be prepared in case of a large number of arrival,” he told 660 NEWS.

He believes 12 per cent would be a healthy number for Alberta who still has job shortages in some fields.

“The reason I’m very positive about it is because refugees have done well in Canada. because we have a community that’s responsive, at the outset we look at these people coming and they need help but if you look at the outcome of refugee settlement and the 2nd generation, they have done amazing.”

Birjandian says Canada is a leading country and in watching the ongoing crisis unfolding in Europe, this country has an obligation to act.

He says the local response of people and groups willing to step up to help has been overwhelming, according to CCIS figures Calgary has one of the highest rates of sponsored refugees in the nation.

“We can’t ignore what is happening there, we can actually all get engaged on our own terms, plan for it, we can see what is happening in Europe when you have 100s of thousands of people out walking through the country, that is not a desirable situation.”

“Canada has to do it’s part, we always have done it and I think we all will benefit from it,” he said.

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