John McCallum and Toronto Group Requests

Toronto Halifax: Toronto group requests 5-day halt to refugee arrivals Arrivals paused to deal with Ottawa housing shortage McCallum to review travel costs for Syrian refugees who arrived in Canada before Nov. 4 Groups in Toronto and Halifax have joined agencies in Ottawa and Vancouver in their request to temporarily delay the arrival of government-assisted refugees, according to CBC. Immigration Minister John McCallum, who took part in a question-and-answer session with the Canadian Club of Toronto on Wednesday, said afterward the requests are coming directly from resettlement agencies, not city officials. "They are finding that they need a little more time to hire more people," McCallum said in Toronto Wednesday morning. "My officials are helping them with that process, and they also need a little more time to find medium-term housing." McCallum called the temporary measure a "short-term diversion" while the government helps ease the strain felt by some of the resettlement groups. The latest hiccup in the government plan to resettle 25,000 refugees — a mix of privately sponsored and government-assisted refugees — by March 1 comes as 11,613 Syrian refugees have already arrived in Canada since Nov. 4 when the Liberals were sworn into power. Extended hotel stays That means that some government-assisted refugees will have to stay in temporary accommodations near the Toronto and Montreal airports for a few days before travelling to their host cities, said the minister on Wednesday. "I am told that this will be resolved in a matter of a few days, not longer than that," McCallum said. "At the present time, four communities, Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Halifax, have asked us to delay new arrivals for a few days," said Theodora Jean, a spokeswoman with the Immigration Department in an email to CBC News. The Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia told CBC News in Halifax that it is not one of the groups who have asked the government to delay the arrival of refugees. A Syrian refugee holds his daughter as they arrive at the Pearson Toronto International Airport in Mississauga, Ont. "At most, new arrivals in these situations are being delayed up to five days," Jean said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.