Goodale assures US on Canadian screening for Syrian refugees

OTTAWA – Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says he has assured his American counterpart that Canada’s plan to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees won’t come at the expense of proper security checks.

Goodale spoke with Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson on Friday about the plans to accept the refugees by the end of the year.

In a release issued Saturday evening Goodale said the tight timelines won’t affect Canada’s ability to “appropriately select and screen refugees.”

Goodale says Canada is integrating security throughout the process.

The government will provide details on Tuesday on how it will bring the refugees into Canada by the end of next month.

A document obtained by The Canadian Press suggests the cost of the resettlement plan could hit $1.2 billion over the next six years with $876.7 million needed in the 2015-2016 budget year alone.