General Chat

Our first plane load of Syrian refugees arrived yesterday in Toronto. So many happy, smiling faces! There will be 10,000 arriving by the end of December and another 15,000 by the end of February. We're doing our part and I'm proud of it.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/syria-refugees-arrive-1.3360154

Definitely something to be proud of Margee :-D

Also, well done Ikea :-D

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/12/10/ikea-canada-syrian-refugees_n_8776194.html

Well done Canada. and also ikea.

Also CN (Canadian National Railroad) has pledged $5 million to help the refugees.

http://ipolitics.ca/2015/12/11/cn-pledges-5-million-for-syrian-refugee-resettlement/

'Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see'.

We are all members of the human family, bound together by virtue of our common humanity. Well done. Keep hope alive in Canada for those who find refuge there.

Actually they weren't all Syrians just to be clear.
The funniest part was they were met at the airport by all the bigwigs and they had no idea they were important people meeting them.
I have nothing against any of them coming to Canada BUT it would have been nice to at least match the effort with housing/feeding/clothing Canadians who have fallen on hard times...not all of them due to drink or drugs just high cost of living.
In Toronto for instance there isn't enough public housing (council housing) and a lot of what there is needs massive repairs done to it, but Canada is paying for housing for the refugees in the private sector.
The Toronto school boards don't have enough money for text books; special needs; teachers; clean/safe schools etc but we have found money to educate in small classes or with asst. for the refugees.
In Canada we pay for a lot of our medicine and some health care ourselves, not so the refugees.
We have to pay for our future education at all levels, I bet the refugees will get free skill training.
Level playing field needed.......I know some will think me heartless I'm not I agree they needed help but should they jump over those that pay their taxes already ??

Caroline - sorry to hear that Canada has a similar straightened finance situation as here in the UK.

This statement now makes no sense as it was in reply to one which has been deleted.

Wow sorry thought I could state my view without being jumped on in a negative manner.....yeah Canada land of free speech and thought !!
I never said they shouldn't come here......................

No but poor Canadians, like poor and homeless Brits aren't in imminent danger of having their throats slit by IS, or chemical attack from their own government, or having their homes bombed, are they?

Would you rather the refugees did not get skill training and be a permanent drain on the tax payer...or that they get training ( if needed) in order to be able to contribute taxes? Here, people seem unable to decide whether refugees or migrants should be denigrated for taking benefits or denigrated for 'nicking our jobs' and NOT taking benefits. Can't win can they?

Of course if Canada and the UK are such terrible places to be one could always go and live in Syria I suppose....or become an economic migrant in one of the other democratic nations?

We moan a lot, but few of us have to watch our children blown apart, or our families decimated, or losing a home and having to survive in the rubble or live in a refugee camp.

Caroline,

I think most can see your point and yes the same problems exsist in all countries who are giving refuge,but in the long term it wont be long before the adults of the refugees are found some employment in turn will pay their due taxes into the countries ecomony,then the up and coming children educated to a high standard,then into employemt which will give back most of what it cost to establish them.......just that it will be sometime later.

Unfortunally residents arent consulted in what any GOV decides for that country.Put up or shut up.

The refugees at this time I'm sure are very grateful of any country that is opening its doors.Lets hope the outcome is for the good.
Only time will tell.

and again surely one of the rights you say they're looking for is freedom of speech and thought , surely the irony isn't lost here.............

Again I never said they couldn't come over...please read it properly...I said do like for like...if you're helping 10,000 refugees help 10,000 of your fellow countrymen.

It's funny how those that seem to back a cause never ever accept anyone else view without seeking to destroy the so called none believers.....

What I would rather is the first lot of refugees who are arriving this year are mostly privately sponsored ...which in the past meant you had to cover their costs for the next 10 years no state handouts.....now most of these people will be hard pushed to look after them for a year let alone 10.

As for training sure train them but also help with the cost of training those already here. We have high youth unemployment for instance train them too.

Rather than jumping down my throat why not ask why rich countries like Saudi Arabia aren't taken any refugees ???

And you think that isn't the same here Caroline? That there are not 'home grown' problems that could be fixed with more resources and more money and more care?

You can always say, there are poor people, people in need in this country ( UK) or Canada or the US etc etc ad infinitum who need help, who deserve help, and that there are plenty of rich people in rich countries who could do more.

I'll assume you haven't seen any of the multitude of threads where the question regarding why SA etc don't take refugees? or why, if one were a refugee ( they're not all Muslims remember, would either choose or be SAFE to seek refuge there.

So your view is home grown problems shouldn't take equal footing with overseas problems ?
You would then be agreeing that all of your pensioners that grew up in the war, worked hard and paid their taxes all their lives should take second place to others.
On that thread why are so many fit young men running away from their homes, their families, their countries to seek a better life elsewhere ? I know my grand parents and parents didn't run they stood their ground and fought back in WW2 for instance.

Charity begins at home....doesn't stop there...but it begins there.

Here is a link

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/saudi-arabia-denies-giving-syrians-sanctuary-150912050746572.html

or from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anhvinh-doanvo/europes-crisis-refugees_b_8175924.html

"With Saudi Arabia's non-signatory status, the Syrians residing in Saudi Arabia are classified as "Arab brothers and sisters in distress" instead of refugees covered by UN treaties. According to Nabil Othman, the UNHCR regional representative to the Gulf region, there were 500,000 Syrian refugees in Saudi Arabia at the time of his statement. The government itself of Saudi Arabia has stated that it has, over the past five years since the start of the conflict hosted 2.5 million refugees."

So from that I would suggest that the Arab states 'have' taken what we term refugees, but also I think that a good number of refugees would not want to go to the same Arab states that supply money to IS, that have the same laws and the same lack of democracy as the country they are fleeing? I wouldn't.

"Caroline Report 12 Dec 2015 19:53
So your view is home grown problems shouldn't take equal footing with overseas problems ?
You would then be agreeing that all of your pensioners that grew up in the war, worked hard and paid their taxes all their lives should take second place to others.
On that thread why are so many fit young men running away from their homes, their families, their countries to seek a better life elsewhere ? I know my grand parents and parents didn't run they stood their ground and fought back in WW2 for instance."

WHERE did I say or suggest any of that interpretation?

But I'll address one point

"On that thread why are so many fit young men running away from their homes, "

Because they do not want to die. They do not want to fight FOR Assad, they do not want to fight FOR IS. They believe in neither 'cause' both Assad and IS are the 'enemy'.

Citing WW2 is redundant in this case, there is NO comparison.

You said all countries already have problems therefore we shouldn't not help others because of this, so the home grown problems either take equal footing or a back step. I say equal footing and I'm getting my head bitten off for it.

Oh well hopefully we can agree to disagree....

Okay seriously ...you think there is no comparison at all ?

Agreed in Syria both sides seem to be as evil as each other, but that said they could stay closer to home and help fight for democracy in their own country and to take out IS.

I'm pretty sure no one wanted to die in WW2 either, but we sent fit young men and in some case women to fight against the enemy.

I wasnt jumping down your throat at all,,,but pointing out its understood where you are coming from.,,,,,,,the feeling with the same countries failings is universal whos opening it doors.