Canada delays intake of 25,000 Syrian refugees 

What you need to know:

  • The Liberal administration, which had pledged to take in the full number of refugees from camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon this year, said 15,000 would now arrive in the first two months of 2016.

  • The delay was announced as the deadly Paris attacks stir fears in Europe and North America that jihadists could seek to blend in with refugees in order to strike later.

OTTAWA, Wednesday

Canada remains committed to taking in 25,000 Syrian refugees but only 10,000 of them by year’s end, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government said on Wednesday.

The Liberal administration, which had pledged to take in the full number of refugees from camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon this year, said 15,000 would now arrive in the first two months of 2016.

The delay was announced as the deadly Paris attacks stir fears in Europe and North America that jihadists could seek to blend in with refugees in order to strike later.

Recent polls showed 54 per cent of Canadians support slowing down the operation to host refugees if it meant avoiding possible security lapses.

“Canadians have said do this right and if it takes a little longer to do it, then take the time,” Immigration Minister John McCallum told a press conference.

“And so essentially this is what we are going to be doing.”

Officials said communities across Canada where the refugees will be resettled also need more time to prepare for their arrival, McCallum said.

“We want them to have a roof over their head,” he said. “We want them to have the right supports for language training and for all the other things that they need to begin their life here in Canada, and it takes a bit of time to put all of that in place.”

Under the plan, all 25,000 refugees would be identified by December 31 from lists prepared by the UN refugee agency.