Canada to resettle 1,300 Syrian refugees by end of 2014: immigration minister

EDMONTON – Federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says Canada plans to resettle up to 1,300 Syrian refugees by the end of next year.

Kenney says the federal government is ready to respond immediately to a request by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to take in 200 urgent cases.

Kenney says Canada has also committed to accepting up to 1,100 Syrian refugees in 2014 through a private sponsorship program.

He says that’s over and above the number of resettlement spaces available to sponsorship agreement holders.

The Syrian-Canadian community has been calling for such action from the government.

Speaking in Edmonton, Kenney said only a political solution can end the violence and humanitarian crisis in Syria.

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