I'm Not Sleeping Because I'm Happy
December 11, 2015 8:51 AM   Subscribe

The first official Canadian government flight carrying Syrian refugees touched down at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport late last night.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne welcomed the first two families (and gave them winter coats.) Well-wishers showed up to welcome refugees at the airport [video]. Despite setbacks, Canadian Immigration officials say they will have no problem meeting the target of bringing 25,000 refugees to Canada by the end of February.
The approximate cost of sponsoring a family of 4 for a year is $27,000, and Private undraising initiatives have been popping up all over the place, with thousands and thousands of dollars being raised so far. Larger organizations have followed suit.

Tonight, they step off the plane as refugees but they walk out of this terminal as permanent residents of Canada with social insurance numbers, with health cards and with an opportunity to become full Canadians.
This is something that we are able to do in this country because we define a Canadian not by a skin colour or a language or a religion or a background but by a shared set of values, aspirations, hopes and dreams that not just Canadians but people around the world share.


--Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
posted by chococat (46 comments total) 30 users marked this as a favorite
 
I am not yet a Canadian citizen--I'm starting the paperwork for that soon--but I couldn't be prouder to live in this country. Is Canada perfect? Nope, but nowhere is. But it's heartening to see where I live work from a place of compassion and hope, unlike my home country, which has devolved into a shitty racist mess despite the good intentions of a lot of people there.

Also, Shepherd and I are seriously talking about we can get together with some friends to sponsor a refugee family in the New Year.
posted by Kitteh at 8:55 AM on December 11, 2015 [19 favorites]


Canada looks better and better.
posted by kinnakeet at 8:56 AM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]


Bravo, Canada - well done!

It's great to see our northern neighbors extend your hearts and your country's welcome to these brave refugees.
posted by lometogo at 8:58 AM on December 11, 2015 [4 favorites]


It's good to be able to feel pride again.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 9:02 AM on December 11, 2015 [14 favorites]


Yay Canada!
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:03 AM on December 11, 2015


(Now, Justin, let's get that MMIW inquiry rolling right the hell now, eh)
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:03 AM on December 11, 2015 [3 favorites]


So Americans could donate to these Canadian initiatives, right?

It kills me to think that we could be doing this here and we're not.
posted by Frowner at 9:07 AM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]


So, Canada is taking in 25,000 refugees (that are arguably a result of a war the the US started), the US is in 10,000 refugees.

Canada has 1/10 the population of the US.
posted by el io at 9:08 AM on December 11, 2015 [13 favorites]


I saw this on TPL's facebook page yesterday and thought it was pretty cool.

There seem to be a LOT of initiatives and fundraisers in my TO neighbourhood (Danforth East / Upper Beaches / whatever) to help Syrian newcomers and I haven't really heard a single negative word in "real life" about their arrival, only enthusiasm and wanting to help out. Makes some of the comments under news stories seem bizarre.
posted by jamesonandwater at 9:17 AM on December 11, 2015




In my line of work I meet a lot of people who are bigoted. This post is a nice breath of fresh air, thanks.
posted by LegallyBread at 9:20 AM on December 11, 2015


Moral imperatives aside, this is great for the country on so many pragmatic levels. I hope that this first 25k is just a start, because it really is a pittance when held up against the total number of people who have fled Syria. I hope we bring in ten times that figure, at least.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 9:26 AM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]


and this is a pretty lovely gesture: Syrian refugees will see free arts, cultural events in Canada Council initiative
posted by mrjohnmuller at 9:33 AM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]


That is nice! When I became a Canadian citizen I got free access to all the museums and galleries etc for a year, I had a special little card. Canada does that stuff well.
posted by jamesonandwater at 9:38 AM on December 11, 2015 [12 favorites]


I got the card, but not the museums and galleries part. But I did get to vote in the referendum, so that more than made up for it.

Plus I have official documentation with a picture of me with hair halfway down my back, which is amusing to me since now when I look in the mirror the hair doesn't even make it halfway over my head.

More seriously - I had (and still have) my reservations about Trudeau and the Liberals, but he's been doing a pretty good job in overcoming them lately. This is a wonderful gesture, and I think that it sets such a different tone from the meanness and spite of 'The Harper Government' (tm).
posted by sauril at 9:45 AM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]


And after the 25,000 are in by February let's bring in another 25,000.
posted by sety at 9:47 AM on December 11, 2015 [3 favorites]


While this is just a drop in the bucket, it's a start, and even though I didn't vote for Trudeau, this is what leadership on an issue looks like.

And just to underscore what a breath of fresh air this is, his predecessor's approach to the refugee crisis was, in paraphrase, "OMG we're letting ISIS in!":

Mr. Harper ordered Citizenship and Immigration Canada to stop processing Syrian refugees referred by the United Nations, a halt that lasted several weeks in the midst of a global crisis.

As the child of immigrants I refuse to listen to anyone who says I should be afraid of refugees.

#welcometocanada
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:51 AM on December 11, 2015 [11 favorites]


I am happy and not a little proud that our new Federal government and many of the lower levels of government have stepped up so firmly to welcome the Syrian refugees.

I'm even prouder how many Canadians, as individuals or as part of a group, have come forward with support as well.

I have to say though, as I watched videos of all the leaders showing up and pitching in for plane #1.... what will the reception look like as plane #350 pulls up to the gate?

I'm pretty optimistic that the acceptance and resettlement will go well... but last night certainly sets a high bar.
posted by Artful Codger at 9:56 AM on December 11, 2015


... what will the reception look like as plane #350 pulls up to the gate?

Yeah, that worries me as well. The big splash launch is easy PR. But the PR launch seems to be backed up by an actual policy commitment to keep it going.

There seem to be a LOT of initiatives and fundraisers in my TO neighbourhood (Danforth East / Upper Beaches / whatever) to help Syrian newcomers and I haven't really heard a single negative word in "real life" about their arrival, only enthusiasm and wanting to help out. Makes some of the comments under news stories seem bizarre.

Let me take you to a Tim Horton's where I grew up to eavesdrop on a couple of conversation. Those comments will seem a little less...out of place.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:12 AM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


I think it'll look great in whatever river-island thing Toronto has?

The DVP?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:30 AM on December 11, 2015 [4 favorites]


And after the 25,000 are in by February let's bring in another 25,000.

We took in 50k over 18 months, in 1979-81. My main concern about this is that the feds are thinking too small.
posted by bonehead at 10:38 AM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]


(and that one act is why old Joe Who? will always be an ok guy in my books).
posted by bonehead at 10:47 AM on December 11, 2015 [4 favorites]


So proud of my country. It's as if the gloom of the Harper years has magically vanished. I hope that the Syrian refugees can make a home for themselves and find happiness here, as many people from many countries have done in the past.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 11:01 AM on December 11, 2015


It kills me to think that we could be doing this here and we're not.

Syrian refugees have been slowly arriving to the US for a couple of years now. Numbers vary per state. If you wish to help, look for a refugee resettlement agency in your area. You can always donate, volunteer to sponsor a family, teach English or assist them in their job search.

Some VolAgs (voluntary agencies) that resettle in the US and I am familiar with are

United Conference of Catholic Bishops

Church World Service

Lutheran Family Services

International Rescue Committee


I know for a fact the IRC and USCCB resettle Syrian refugees in my state, as I work with them. There are a couple other VolAgs, but I am not familiar with their programs.
posted by Tarumba at 11:42 AM on December 11, 2015 [4 favorites]


If you want to be involved in the Ottawa area, but don't know where to start, Refugee613 is a collection of links to organizations and resources on how to engage.
posted by bonehead at 11:51 AM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


Justin Trudeau tracks down matching winter coats for a pair of twins arriving in Canada.
posted by zachlipton at 11:58 AM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


High school friends Joja Smiljanic, 19, and Christine Ross, 19 drove from Guelph to greet the refugees with $200 in Tim Hortons gift cards.

For Smiljanic, it’s a kindness she knows well. When her parents fled the war in the former Yugoslavia in 1993, a stranger bought her mother lunch at the airport. The gesture extended in her first days in a new country is a treasured memory, Smiljanic said.


This made me pretty much break down in tears. Small kindnesses echo through generations.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:45 PM on December 11, 2015 [14 favorites]


Let me take you to a Tim Horton's where I grew up to eavesdrop on a couple of conversation. Those comments will seem a little less...out of place.

Yeah, sure. But with so much general enthusiasm for the New (old) Canadian Order, those folks will at least have to develop an awareness that those conversations are unacceptable to a majority.

I wondered; apparently,

The 163 people who arrived Thursday will settle in the following Canadian cities, according to statistics released by the Immigration Department:

116 at new homes in the Toronto area.
Four in Windsor, Ont.
Four in Kelowna, B.C.
Three in Coquitlam, B.C.
One in New Westminster, B.C.
20 in Calgary.
15 in Edmonton.


I don't know about the BC locations, but the rest, I think, are sufficiently diverse to mitigate the worst of the Tim Hortonsery.
posted by cotton dress sock at 12:49 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


Good luck to the family getting sent to Whitehorse.
posted by Damienmce at 1:26 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


The Toronto Star (Sun?) had the most awesome front page ever for this. A huge, happy welcoming headline and photo and a sappy article. It made me verklempt!
posted by five fresh fish at 5:00 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


I would so much rather live in a country where this was the top news story...
posted by maggiemaggie at 6:47 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


The Toronto Star (Sun?) had the most awesome front page ever for this
Yep. Here it is.

Made me cry, actually. Imagine arriving in a strange country to see this, everywhere you go.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 8:31 PM on December 11, 2015 [9 favorites]


Oh Jesus, here I am enjoying my post shift pint and I see that. Thank goodness I can blame the leaky eyes on allergies.

As the child of immigrants I refuse to listen to anyone who says I should be afraid of refugees.

It's only in the past couple of years that I've confronted (part of) my internalized racism to realize: I am a first generation Canadian. My parents are immigrants. How dare I say anything against immigration?
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:10 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


Let me take you to a Tim Horton's where I grew up to eavesdrop on a couple of conversation. Those comments will seem a little less...out of place.
Agreeing with the validity of this caveat, while noting that, over the years, Timmies has done a bit to help push back against such insular mindsets ...

Welcome Home

You ... right wing!
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 9:41 PM on December 11, 2015 [5 favorites]


aw man now i'm crying again
posted by you're a kitty! at 9:47 PM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]


This may not be widely publicized, but Amercians are memorizing the lyrics to Rush's 2112 just in case the worst happens.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:05 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


Aww, man, PareidoliaticBoy. "Give me my picture back" kills me every fucking time. The first one I've seen before and it always makes my eyes well up a little, but the Chinese grandpa and his picture just kicks me in the teeth.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:43 PM on December 11, 2015 [3 favorites]


oh canada

(it basically translates as "a gathering of huts")
posted by philip-random at 11:25 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]


we still need more huts
posted by philip-random at 11:25 PM on December 11, 2015


THAT IS AMAZING
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:12 AM on December 12, 2015


Be a MAN. Do the right thing!
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 12:55 AM on December 12, 2015


The latest episode of Canadaland Commons has a pretty heartwarming story of folks in Jasper, Alberta, preparing to open up to a family of refugees.
posted by Banknote of the year at 9:03 AM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]


Oh my god I'm crying over a Tim Horton's ad.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:16 PM on December 12, 2015


The Tim's ones don't do it for me.
The one that use to always get me was the old Bell ad with the kid calling his grandpa from Dieppe.
Just got me again.
posted by chococat at 1:26 PM on December 12, 2015


That Timmies commercial with the Asian grandpa will always make me cry. When that first came out some years ago it was like a punch in the gut because not only does it ring true, it is still so damn rare to see an entire Asian family on TV, let alone representing the most iconic of Canadian brands, engaging in the most Canadian of pastimes. That is one of my favourite ads EVER.
posted by emeiji at 3:53 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]




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