Private Groups and Immigration Department

refugee resettlement program: McCallum committed to private groups to bring as many as 10,000 Syrians by the end of this year or early next, a response to the outcry that erupted when the government massive Syrian refugee resettlement program ended and the processing of applications returned to a far slower pace, according to Hamilton Spectator. Hundreds of groups protested, saying they'd raising thousands of dollars, rented apartments and lined up other supports for Syrians under the assumption that while the large-scale airlifts might be over, helping Syrians would remain a top priority for government. Existing and retired staff from the Immigration Department are set to head overseas this month to begin working through hundreds of applications submitted by private groups across the country, Immigration Minister John McCallum said Wednesday. "We're doing everything we can to honour our commitment to deliver the refugees who had been applied for by March 30," McCallum said. The fact it was now going to take more than a year to bring people over left many groups frustrated. What role the military could play in the second round hasn't been decided, McCallum said. "I don't know if military people will go back or not but we're in close conversation with them and certainly people from my department, and some retired people, are going to be going back certainly this month," he said. The government had resettled 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada between November and the end of February by deploying hundreds of staff overseas to process applications, including members of the Canadian Forces who helped handled medical and security screening. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.