Antonio Guterres

: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres issued a statement welcoming Canada commitment to resetting 25,000 refugees by the end of the year, calling it a "huge gesture of solidarity" that other countries should follow, according to CBC. He said his agency will be helping the Liberal government identify refugees for resettlement — particularly from Lebanon and Jordan — and facilitating their move to Canada. Senior cabinet ministers and top officials from defence, security and intelligence agencies met on Parliament Hill Tuesday to work out an "ambitious" plan for final approval by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his full cabinet, METRO MORNING Canada 'committed' to plan to resettle 25K Syrian refugees by Jan. 1Canada strikes committee to fast track resettlement Refugee plan has officials 'working around the clock'THE HOUSE McCallum says Liberals to fully restore interim refugee health benefits "We're committed to do this fast, but we're also committed to do it right, to do it well," said Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum. "And those involve particularly concerns around security and concerns about health." McCallum said overall costs will depend on how the plan is ultimately implemented, given the "huge number" of parameters, variables and considerations. "What I can guarantee to you absolutely is that we will not keep Canadians in the dark on what the costs are," he said. "And that I can say with 100 per cent certainty." In addition to stringent security screening, the refugee intake plan also considers dealing with potential health concerns such as tuberculosis, according to Health Minister Jane Philpott. But the burden of welcoming Syrian refugees falls to agencies at an already busy time of year. Since Jan. 1, more than 590,000 people have crossed into Greece, the front line of a massive westward population shift from war-ravaged Syria and beyond. "We had hoped we would have more details," Claudette Legault, the director of programs and services for the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, told CBC News. Migrants from Syria walk along a railway platform in Berlin last month. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.