MONTREAL – Immigration Minister John McCallum said progress is being made on finding housing for Syrian refugees.
Speaking at a funding announcement in Montreal Wednesday, McCallum said 69 per cent of the refugees outside Quebec have found permanent accommodation.
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He said that’s up from 52 per cent just a few weeks ago and represents good progress.
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The numbers don’t include Quebec, which has its own program and where housing hasn’t created the same dilemmas as in the rest of the country.
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McCallum said the problem was most pronounced in larger cities like Vancouver and Toronto, which were at just 30 per cent a couple of weeks ago but are now at 50 per cent.
McCallum announced a donation of $750,000 from the private sector to help Syrian refugees in Canada.
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The immigration minister said almost all should be housed by the end of April and certainly all by end of June.