There is some confusion about whether Halifax has asked for a temporary pause in the flow of Syrian refugees, or not.
In an email from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) early Wednesday, spokesperson Theodora Jean said Halifax was one of four Canadian cities to have asked to delay new arrivals of Syrian Refugees.
“In these cases, refugees who arrive in Canada destined to these areas can remain in hotels in Toronto/Montreal for a few extra days before they travel on to their final destination,” the email reads.
READ MORE: Syrian families fill up Ottawa hotels as federal government pauses flow of refugees
An email from federal immigration minister John McCallum, though, says the cities of Vancouver, Halifax, Ottawa and Toronto have not asked for pauses, rather the settlement groups within the cities have.
However, ISANS and the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration both said Tuesday that they did not ask McCallum for a pause in refugee flow.
“We do not know how Halifax got on the list, but Halifax did not ask for a break in arrivals,” ISANS spokesperson Nabiha Atallah said.
Tuesday, the provincial department of immigration told Global News they were still on track to bring in 1,500 refugees within the year, however an email from CIC to Global News on Wednesday says otherwise.
CIC says requests for a temporary pause in the flow of refugees is a result of limited temporary housing and lack of people to help when the refugees arrive, which is putting a strain on operations.
“We are working with the Resettlement Assistance Program Service Provider Organizations (RAP SPOs) in those communities to ease the strain they are currently experiencing, which includes delaying arrivals for a few days,” the email reads.
–With files from Marieke Walsh
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