Implicit Assumption and Special Treatment

Canada: There is an implicit assumption behind these concerns: that the 25,000 refugees will receive 'special treatment' through government supports with respect to housing and income -- while almost five million people living in poverty who are already in Canada are clearly not receiving the government support and programs they need, according to Rabble. After all, almost 900,000 people in Canada use food banks each month; 235,000 are homeless annually; Indigenous households in the North are living in overcrowded housing, sleeping in shifts; and two million people are working in precarious paid employment but cannot earn enough to make ends meet. You might think that this question is based on concerns for the quality of life for refugees once they arrive, but instead it seems to be more about an issue of "fairness" for those who are already marginalized within our own borders. The problem with the question is that it pits Syrian refugees against people living in poverty in Canada, as if responding to one crisis implies we must ignore the other. By committing to assist refugees the government will be given an opportunity to solve poverty within our borders as well. In fact, the opposite is true. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.