Marka Airport and the Canadian Press

Immigration Department: Data obtained by The Canadian Press shows that government-assisted refugees have more children, lower language skills and lower education levels compared with those being resettled by private groups. Syrian refugees wait at Marka Airport in Amman, Jordan, on Dec. 8, 2015 to complete their migration procedures to Canada. "Overall, the needs of this population are higher than originally expected," says the six-page brief from the Immigration Department, according to Huffington Post Canada. But, the department adds, those needs are common among all government-assisted refugees. The chief concern lies with the government-assisted refugee population, those whose costs are covered entirely by taxpayers in their first year and who see their needs addressed by resettlement agencies in one of 36 Canadian cities. What unique for the Syrians is the time frame — the entire contingent will have been resettled in about two and a half months. "The government of Canada continues to encourage innovative thinking and collaboration between all tiers of government and service-providing organizations in the areas of language-training, education and vocational services to assist in the successful integration of this population," the analysis says. Bigger families The analysis reviewed information on Syrian refugees processed between November 2015 and January 2016, focusing mainly on those coming out of Jordan. Of the 25,000 Syrians expected to be in Canada by the end of this month, about two-thirds are expected to be government-assisted, with a total of 25,000 government-assisted refugees to arrive by the end of 2016. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.