As Canada opens its doors to people fleeing the Syrian civil war, an Okotoks church is preparing to bring a family fleeing the conflict to the Foothills.
Pastor Lee Umbach from Okotoks Alliance Church said the congregation is working to sponsor a family as a refugee. He said it’s the right thing to do to help families fleeing the war-torn country.
“We live in a country where we have so much and we see stories in the news of brokenness all around us and we want to offer a chance for hope,” said Umbach.
The Foothills is expected to take in some of the 25,000 refugees Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to bring to Canada by the end of the year. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has said Alberta will take in 3,000 refugees.
Umbach said the scale of the problem, and the scope of the response required, means it will take a concerted effort to help refugees.
A meeting will be held on Nov. 26 at the Pason Centennial Arena’s multi-purpose room for groups looking to sponsor refugees starting at 7 p.m. sharp and running until 9:30 p.m. The meeting is open to anyone interested and will include information about sponsoring refugees and other aspects of the process.
Meanwhile, local officials who work with immigrants are preparing for refugees that end up in the Foothills.
Myrna Scovoranski, community co-ordinator at the High River office of Foothills Immigrant Community Services, said most Alberta-bound refugees will end up in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. However, she expects some refugees will end up in the Foothills.
She said the group’s High River and Okotoks offices will not be sponsoring any refugees on their own, but they are gearing up to provide whatever services might be needed by any who come to the Foothills.
“We’re trying to make sure we’re going to be prepared, so they won’t just send funding to the City of Calgary… because it’s going to happen, we are going to find people who are going to want to leave the city,” said Scovoranski.
She said they are hoping to get funding to boost support services for refugees who end up in the Foothills.
Scovoranski said she doesn’t know of any Syrian refugees currently in the Foothills, but she has heard of some individuals and groups who are preparing to sponsor refugees.
Foothills MP John Barlow said Canada should open its doors to Syrian refugees, but the Trudeau government is moving too quickly. He said the government doesn’t have adequate, well-thought-out plans for refugee settlement, housing, social needs and medical care.
“I think this is something that as Canadians we can be very proud of, to welcome refugees to Canada, but to be proud of this we have to do it right,” said Barlow. “It has to be based on sound planning and preparation and not an arbitrary deadline.”
He said there aren’t enough supports in place in the Foothills for refugees. Housing is already a problem in the riding and he questions what bringing refugees to the area would mean for the already-tight housing market in the Foothills, he said.
“In High River, rental housing or housing is extremely difficult to come by, especially post-flood, Okotoks our vacancy rate is usually close to zero and it’s usually the same in most other communities,” he said.
Barlow said he is fielding dozens of emails and calls a day from people concerned about the government’s timeline. He said there are legitimate concerns about the Jan. 1 deadline, not only about security and screening refugees, but also over ensuring the right conditions are in place for refugees to begin with. Barlow said the transition needs to be as seamless as possible and it’s better to slow down to get things right.
“We want to make sure that Canadians feel assured that their concerns have been met, this is a transparent open discussion and this plan is put in place and is well defined,” he said.
Barlow is also critical of Trudeau’s plans to withdraw the six Canadian CF-18 fighter jets involved in the fight against ISIS. It may not be a large contribution, but he said Canadian forces made an impact.
“It does show that we are standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies in the military action against ISIS,” he said. “For us to pull aside, we lose a lot of our global clout with how we are viewed with our allies.”
Removing the Canadian fighter jets from the war effort was another campaign promise by Trudeau. The prime minister has stated he will stick to his commitment, and the government will increase the number of Canadian soldiers providing military training in the region.
