NDP, Liberals press Tories to deliver on pledge to Turkey for Syrian refugees

OTTAWA – The NDP and Liberals are calling on the Conservative government to make good on a pledge to help Turkey foot the bill for the influx of Syrian refugees, which topped 100,000 this week.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird offered Canada’s financial assistance to Turkey almost one month ago when he welcomed his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutolu, to Ottawa.

Turkey’s acting ambassador, Gulcan Akoguz, says Canada has yet to offer any money.

Baird’s office says it has nothing new to announce, but is looking for ways to continue assisting the Syrian people.

NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar and Liberal aid critic Mark Eyking urged the government to come up with funds for its NATO ally because there is no end in sight to the Syria crisis, which has overflowed into neighbouring countries.

Baird said last month that just because Turkey is Syria’s next-door neighbour, countries like Canada shouldn’t be left off the hook when it comes to sharing the burden of the refugee crisis.