Paul Dewar and Federal Parties

NDP government: Dewar said the parties should work together to immediately establish a Syrian refugee coordinator, who would oversee a multi-departmental effort to fast-track the government-sponsored refugees, according to CTV. He also said that while fast-tracking refugees would be a good start, it is not enough. At separate news conferences on Saturday, both parties said it time for all of the federal parties to put campaign politics aside and focus instead on helping those desperately fleeing Syria and Iraq. "We have reached out to the government now, because we don't need to wait until October to start this work," NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar said in Ottawa. According to Dewar, an NDP government would also do the following to address the crisis: Settle 9,000 government-sponsored refugees each year starting in 2016 for four years;Fast-track private sponsorship, with no limits or caps;Provide health care to the refugees. He noted that the NDP plan is keeping in line with the numbers set by the UN, which has set Canada share of the global refugee total at 9,000 per year. Dewar said NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has consulted with experts and refugee advocacy groups in crafting the plan. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.