PM Justin Trudeau says Canada will take refugees
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by US President Donald Trump: Canada will take you.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pushed back against the temporary ban on Syrian refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations imposed through an executive order by American President Donald Trump.
While not mentioning the newly instituted American policy, Trudeau tweeted: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength.”
Using the hashtag #WelcomeToCanada along with an image of Trudeau greeting a refugee family from Syria, Trudeau sent out the message even as Canadian officials were scrambling to deal with the fallout of the American announcement. Canada has resettled nearly 40,000 refugees from Syria since the Trudeau government assumed office in November 2015
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The number of persons in Canada who hold dual citizenship of one of the seven countries in the executive order and the number of residents from the nations together total nearly 75,000.
Trudeau instructed Canadian National Security Advisor Daniel Jean to contact his American counterpart, Gen (Retd.) Michael Flynn to “seek further clarification” of this matter. In a tweeted statement, Trudeau said that Flynn “confirmed” that holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens will “not be affected by the ban.”
Canadian transport minister Marc Garneau was also in touch with his American counterpart as well as with officials from the department of homeland security.
Meanwhile, the country’s minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship Ahmed Hussen, appointed in a cabinet reshuffle recently, is a refugee who was born in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, one of the nations that figures on Trump’s list.
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