150 Syrian refugees expected in Toronto on Thursday
The first wave of 150 Syrian refugees is expected to arrive in a Royal Canadian Air Force transport at Pearson on Thursday, the Star has learned.
TheStar.com
Dec. 8, 2015
Robert Benzie
The first wave of 150 Syrian refugees is expected to arrive in a Royal Canadian Air Force transport at Pearson International Airport on Thursday, the Star has learned.
Sources said Tuesday the military jet will be bringing the newcomers from an airfield in Jordan.
Health Minister Eric Hoskins declined to discuss “specific numbers,” but emphasized Ontario is well prepared for the influx of refugees.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said 10,000 should arrive before the end of this month, with at least 4,000 expected to stay in Ontario.
By the end of February, some 25,000 Syrians should be resettled in Canada.
“I’m confident that the federal government has a plan in place, which is achievable, and the province is ready to receive not only our fair share but to receive them in a manner which provides them with the support that they require,” Hoskins told reporters at Queen’s Park.
“The federal government has made it clear that they will be arriving as permanent residents,” he said, adding this is helpful in moving the newcomers through the system.
“They will receive a federal health card upon arrival at Pearson and that will entitle them to health care through the Interim Federal Health Program until such time as they transition across to OHIP coverage.”
In preparation, Pearson’s Infield Terminal, which can process three full refugee flights a day, has been transformed into a one-stop immigration shop, complete with posters of Niagara Falls, a play room with moose plush toys and warm winter clothing.
The terminal is designed to facilitate a step-by-step process in which Syrian families meet with a border services agent, receive a medical examination, and are then provided with winter coats, hats, socks and boots.
“We certainly hope they will never forget the first day they arrive in Canada,” said Heidi Jurisic, GTA director of immigration for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
“They will enter this terminal as refugees and leave as permanent residents of Canada.”
The multi-stage approach starts in a cubicle with a Canadian Border Services officer who will check fingerprints, assist with paperwork and confirm identities.
Service Canada booths are at the ready to issue social insurance numbers to refugees on the spot. Families will also receive information on job searching and how to access health care.
“They will feel Canadian quite quickly once they are finished with processing,” said Christine Durocher, the CBSA’s district director of passenger operations.
Along with coffee, tea and other snacks, the refugees can use telephones equipped with free international long distance to touch base with relatives.
The special receiving area at Toronto Pearson is one of two ports-of-entry in Canada — the other is in Montreal. Both are temporary operations expected to remain in place until the end of February.
The terminal has been upgraded in advance of the wave of incoming refugees, said Pat Neville, the Greater Transport Airport Authority’s vice-president of airport planning and technical service.
“We’ve brought it back to life, activated the systems, put some fresh paint on the walls,” he said during a behind-the-scenes tour of the complex Tuesday morning.
It hasn’t gone off without a hitch, however. During the tour, the airport learned the Arabic spelling of the terminal’s temporary washroom signs were spelled backwards. Toronto Pearson’s Twitter accounted later tweeted they were being redone.
Following the welcome centre, refugees will be transported to a local hotel for a meal and overnight stay before making the trek to their destination community.
The Immigration Department said government-assisted refugees will be transported over time. If those communities aren’t ready, Syrians will instead be accommodated at “interim lodging” sites at various Canadian Forces bases.
Sponsors awaiting their new charges in Toronto and Montreal can expect to receive direction from the government concerning when and where they can meet them.
Quebec, meanwhile, is putting the finishing touches on plans to resettle what could be up to 9,000 refugees. The first group is expected to begin arriving later this week.
Unique among Canadian provinces for the control that the province has over its immigration system and the expectation that new arrivals learn to speak in French, Quebec has set up generous financial incentives for businesses to hire the newcomers, a phone line to organize volunteer efforts and donations, and is on the hunt for thousands of rental units for refugees to begin remaking their lives.
The highlight of the plans rolled out in Montreal Tuesday was that a pre-existing $10-million fund would be made available to reimburse employers who hire Syrian refugees for up to $16,000 a year.
Quebec Labour Minister Sam Hamad said providing refugees with a job is one of the best ways to ensure that they can integrate into a new society and learn its cultures and norms — not to mention the language.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said his city, home to the largest population of Syrian expats in Canada, is gearing up to welcome between 7,000 and 9,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq over the next two years. That number could potentially surpass the 7,500 that the entire province plans to bring to Quebec in 2015 and 2016.
