Stephen Harper defends refugee response as ‘generous’

OTTAWA—Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is defending his government’s approach to the Syrian refugee crisis as “generous and responsible.”

And he took aim at the Liberals and New Democrats for what he branded as their “reckless” promises to throw open Canada’s doors to assist with the humanitarian crisis.

“Our policy has been more refugees, a faster process and more financial support for the region, all done with careful selection of the refugees,” Harper said during a campaign stop in Windsor, Ont., on Sunday.

“The other guys, in response to chasing headlines over the past month, would have made the kinds of decisions that other countries are now regretting,” he said, without specifying what countries he was talking about.

“They would have acted in ways that were reckless and irresponsible. We have been generous and we have been responsible,” he said.

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander on Saturday announced that Ottawa would speed plans to settle 10,000 Syrian refugees in Canada by next September, earlier than first promised.

The announcement comes after public and political pressure on the Conservatives to do more to respond to the unfolding crisis that has seen millions of Syrians take flight from the violence in their homeland.

In the early days of the campaign, Harper promised that a re-elected Conservative government would welcome 10,000 Syrians over four years, on top of the 10,000 refugees it said in January it would accept.

But until Saturday, the Conservatives had resisted calls to accelerate those resettlements.

Both the Liberals and New Democrats have each proposed speedier settlement of refugees from the troubled region.

On Sunday, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau reiterated his pledge to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees by Jan. 1, 2016.

He was pressed on the logistics of such an ambitious move. While conceding it would be a “significant endeavour,” he said it was possible with additional case workers in the region and other resources, which he estimated would cost $100 million.

He said that Harper’s talk of security concerns was really an excuse for a lack of political will.

“No one is suggesting we should put aside security in order to get this done,” Trudeau said during a campaign stop in Halifax.

“Any time Canada has been part of resettlement of refugees . . . security has always been a concern and has been properly addressed,” Trudeau said.

Original Article
Source: thestar.com/
Author:  Bruce Campion-Smith