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Harper under pressure to alleviate Syrian refugee crisis as election looms Stephen Harper forced to address 'heartbreaking situation' of Kurdi family
(about 5 hours later)
Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, is facing criticism that his government has failed to do enough to help Syrian refugees after reports that Canada rejected a refugee bid from the family of the Syrian boy whose body washed ashore in Turkey this week. Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, has been forced to defend his government’s record on refugees after it emerged that a Syrian boy whose body ashore in Turkey this week had family in Canada.
Related: Shocking images of drowned Syrian boy show tragic plight of refugees Shocking images of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi’s s body lying face down in the surf not far from Turkey’s fashionable resort town of Bodrum captured the world’s attention and appeared on the front pages of newspapers worldwide.
Aylan Kurdi, three, his older brother Galip, five, and their mother died while trying to reach Europe after their application to resettled to Canada was rejected, family members told the media. His older brother Galip, five, and mother also died while trying to reach Europe.
Shocking images of Aylan’s body lying face down in the surf not far from Turkey’s fashionable resort town of Bodrum captured the world’s attention and quickly became a major issue in Canada’s federal election campaign. Reports that Canada had rejected an asylum application by members of the boy’s family quickly made the tragedy a major issue in the country’s federal election campaign and forced the Conservative leader to change his schedule to address the controversy.
On Thursday, the Canadian immigration minister, Chris Alexander, announced he was suspending his own re-election campaign and returning to Ottawa to look into the family’s case. Related: Aylan Kurdi: friends and family fill in gaps behind harrowing images
In a tearful news conference in British Columbia on Thursday, Aylan’s aunt, Tima Kurdi, described their father Abdullah’s desperate struggle to keep his young sons from drowning after their boat capsized.
Seeing Aylan was no longer alive “he closed his eyes and let him go”, she said, sobbing. “They didn’t deserve to die. They wanted a better life.”
Contrary to earlier reports, Tima, who has been in Canada for 20 years, said she had not sponsored Abdullah and his family as refugee claimants but instead had tried to bring in another brother, Mohammed, and his children.
She said he is currently in Germany after his bid was rejected.
The Canadian government confirmed Mohammed Kurdi’s family refugee application was turned down because it failed to meet requirements for refugee status recognition. It also confirmed it received no application for Abdullah Kurdi and his young family.
At a campaign stop, Harper directly addressed the Kurdi family’s tragedy, calling it a truly “heartbreaking situation”.
The Conservative leader reiterated his promised that if re-elected, his government would do more to help those fleeing violence in Syria and highlighted Canada’s involvement in the US-led military mission against Isis in Iraq and Syria, which neither of his political opponents, the New Democrats and the Liberals, support.
Harper also underscored Canada’s humanitarian response to the situation in Syria, which includes helping fund United Nations efforts to assist refugees.
“We should be doing everything, we are doing everything and and we will do more of everything,” he said.
The immigration minister, Chris Alexander, announced on Thursday he was suspending his own re-election campaign and returning to Ottawa to look into the family’s case.
In a statement, he said the tragic photos of Aylan Kurdi “broke hearts around the world”.In a statement, he said the tragic photos of Aylan Kurdi “broke hearts around the world”.
“Like all Canadians I was deeply saddened by that image and of many other images of the plight of the Syrian and Iraqi migrants fleeing persecution at the hands of Isis.”“Like all Canadians I was deeply saddened by that image and of many other images of the plight of the Syrian and Iraqi migrants fleeing persecution at the hands of Isis.”
He went on to note that Canada resettles more than one in 10 refugees worldwide.He went on to note that Canada resettles more than one in 10 refugees worldwide.
Just hours after pictures of Kurdi emerged on Wednesday, Harper promised that if re-elected, his government would do more to help those fleeing violence in Syria.
He also highlighted Canada’s involvement in the US-led mission against Isis in Iraq and Syria, which neither the New Democrats nor the Liberals support.
But opposition leaders say the Conservative government needs to do more to alleviate one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.But opposition leaders say the Conservative government needs to do more to alleviate one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
At a campaign stop on Thursday, the Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau, had harsh words for Alexander. “You don’t get to suddenly discover compassion in the middle of an election campaign,” he said.At a campaign stop on Thursday, the Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau, had harsh words for Alexander. “You don’t get to suddenly discover compassion in the middle of an election campaign,” he said.
Trudeau reiterated his call for Canada to grant asylum to 25,000 Syrian refugees in the coming months.Trudeau reiterated his call for Canada to grant asylum to 25,000 Syrian refugees in the coming months.
Related: Father of drowned boy Aylan Kurdi plans to return to SyriaRelated: Father of drowned boy Aylan Kurdi plans to return to Syria
Asked about the Kurdi family at a campaign event on Thursday morning in Toronto, the New Democrat leader, Tom Mulcair, said Alexander “has questions to answer” and said the government should expedite their current commitment to grant asylum to 10,000 Syrian refugees. Asked about the Kurdi family at a campaign event on Thursday morning in Toronto, the New Democrat leader, Tom Mulcair, said Canada had an “obligation to act”.
“We can absolutely absorb that right away,” he said. “Enough is enough. We can’t continue to see images like these.” “It’s just unbearable that we’re doing nothing,” Mulcair said.
New Democrat MP Fin Donnelly told Canadian media that he had sent a letter regarding the Kurdi family’s case to Alexander on behalf of Aylan’s aunt, Teema Kurdi. According to the department of citizenship and immigration, Canada has resettled a total 2,374 Syrian refugees, the majority of them through private sponsorship.
Teema Kurdi, who came to Canada 20 years ago and lives in Donnelly’s electoral district, or riding, told the National Post newspaper she had tried to bring in the family through Canada’s private sponsorship program but the application had been rejected in June. Immigration lawyer Richard Kurland said that Canada seemed to be dragging its heels in bringing in Syrian refugees.
The family, like many other Syrian Kurdish refugees, were not granted exit visas by Turkey and they had not been given UN refugee status, she said. Kurland conceded there would be many complicated refugee claims cases due to the chaotic situation in the region, but that given the scale of the crisis, it should be easy to quickly fill Canada’s recent promise to bring in 10,000 Syrian refugees.
That figure was in addition to a 2013 commitment to grant asylum to 1,300 Syrian refugees, a figure that was met in March, three months behind schedule.
“When you have a number and are not delivering in a timely manner, that’s political poison. That’s wrong, politically and morally,” Kurland said.
The Canadian Council for Refugees, a nonprofit group that lobbies for refugee rights, said Canada could make it easier for families like the Kurdis to be reunited by implementing flexible measures like temporary residency permits.The Canadian Council for Refugees, a nonprofit group that lobbies for refugee rights, said Canada could make it easier for families like the Kurdis to be reunited by implementing flexible measures like temporary residency permits.
“These small boys could be alive today, if Canada had responded more appropriately to the Syrian refugee crisis,” said the council’s president, Loly Rico, in a statement. Thursday was the second day that Alexander, the immigration minister, has made headlines over Canada’s response to the refugee crisis.
It is the second day that Alexander has made headlines over Canada’s response to the refugee crisis.
In a testy exchange on a political news show on Wednesday, Alexander accused the media of largely ignoring the longstanding crisis after facing questions over his government’s reliance on its refugee sponsorship program, which allows designated organisations or citizens to directly sponsor individuals claiming asylum.In a testy exchange on a political news show on Wednesday, Alexander accused the media of largely ignoring the longstanding crisis after facing questions over his government’s reliance on its refugee sponsorship program, which allows designated organisations or citizens to directly sponsor individuals claiming asylum.
It was the program under which the Kurdi family had apparently attempted to gain asylum to Canada.
The Conservative government has committed to resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2017.
That is in addition to a 2013 commitment to grant asylum to 1,300 Syrian refugees, a figure that was met in March.
Canadians go to the polls 19 October.Canadians go to the polls 19 October.