Immigration Minister John McCallum and Syria

Jane Philpott: Immigration Minister John McCallum told Ali he was struck by the symbolism of a painting showing a woman carrying a map of Syria on her back up a flight of stairs, a heavy red sky in the background."Women do all the heavy lifting," McCallum remarked, according to National Observer. That painting now hangs in Health Minister Jane Philpott office in Ottawa. Ali, one of the artists, shook the ministers' hands and explained the concept behind his gripping paintings of women and men struggling with life and the war in Syria. McCallum didn't have one — until Monday. Five of them ended up being the Ali family. The ministers left the camp and went on to open a massive refugee processing centre near Amman that would eventually see thousands of refugees interviewed and screened to come to Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.