The executive director of Quinte Immigration Services says the Quinte area will welcome about 78 new Syrian refugee families through private sponsorship by the end of this year.
Canada is on the verge of receiving another surge of Syrians in order to meet its ambitious refugee admissions target by the end of 2016, though government officials haven’t confirmed timing.
Orlando Ferro says they have contacted Kingston and Peterborough interest groups who will welcome 340 refugees (combined) to see if they are interested in taking part in Quinte’s Farmers Feed The World – a training program that teaches refugees about Canadian agriculture practices.
Ferro said their program agreement with the Canadian Red Cross allows for 221 refugees and 58 are already registered. The program that Ferro touted as “growing with rapid interest” begins in November.
Since Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, 11 million Syrians have been displaced, or about half of the entire country. Four million of them have fled across Syria’s borders, and 75% are women and children.
Since 2015, Ferro says the Quinte region has welcomed 25 Syrian families, adding there have been some struggles surrounding housing.
Immigration Canada promised to bring in 25,000 government-assisted refugees this year. About 6,000 are still to come.
