Canada's minister of immigration and citizenship says the country's resettlement program for Syrian refugees could double its intake by the end of next year to 50,000.
John McCallum was in the Jordanian capital of Amman on Sunday, meeting with Syrian families preparing to board flights to Canada. He told one family: "Everyone in Canada is waiting to meet you."
Canada's new Liberal government is pushing forward with its pledge to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February. McCallum says Canada hopes to settle 35,000 to 50,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016, with the UN refugee agency, the Jordanian government and the International Organization for Migration assisting with the vetting process.
McCallum also toured development projects and refugee facilities during his two-day stop in Jordan.
Aid agencies have praised Canada for setting a humanitarian example by swiftly taking in some of the desperate Syrian refugees who continue to arrive in Europe in significant numbers.
"Canada's programs are an expression of support to Syrian refugees but importantly for us they are a demonstration too of solidarity to countries in the region hosting more than 4 million Syrian refugees," U.N. refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in Geneva.
"We encourage other states to engage in these programmes."
