When Timmins city council unanimously agreed to become a funding partner to help bring a Syrian refugee family to the city, it was met with mixed emotions from the public.
Local news websites, Facebook groups, and online forums have been inundated with hundreds of comments on the issue.
Many not fit for print.
After the horrific events last Friday in Paris, the inflammatory nature of these comments escalated.
Many feared that Canada as a whole, and now possibly Timmins, could be opening itself up for an influx of radicalism and violence.
From the information gathered thus far from Paris, none of the assailants have been Syrian. None have been refugees.
The new government led by Justin Trudeau has made a serious commitment to bringing Syrian refugees to Canada.
Even before Trudeau and the Liberals won a resounding majority a month ago, the wheels were already in motion in Timmins to help.
Mayor Steve Black offered some perspective to naysayers.
“This is the worst refugee crisis since World War II with over 4-million refugees of which 75 percent are women and children,” he said.
“People commenting usually do not know enough facts about the refugee process to give accurate information. Often they reference the people walking freely across borders in Europe. These are not the people the Canadian process brings in through sponsorship. The people the Canadian government authorizes have been in refugee camps for some time often years outside Syria. They are screened by the United Nations refugee agency, Canadian government and intelligence agencies before ever entering Canada,” said Black.
Heading up the process locally is the Timmins Multicultural Centre.
Immigration Co-Ordinator Tom Baby feels that many of the comments are based in ignorance.
“There's obviously some concerns and fear from what's happened in Paris, but I think people really need to educate themselves more and understand the situation. People should feel very confident in the assurances of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Minister, the Defence Minister, the Immigration Minister, the head of the RCMP and the head of CSIS. All the refugees coming to Canada will be vetted by the United Nations High Commissioner and representatives of the Canadian Government, so really there is nothing to fear.”
Black hopes that people can appreciate how dire the situation for the refugees really is.
“People tend to get angry or afraid after an act of terrorism which is understandable but to throw a blanket over an entire race or country as a result would be wrong. The refugees in the camps left everything behind to escape these same acts of terrorism in Syria which have destroyed hospitals, schools, and homes in their country on a routine basis,” he said.
Baby provided an update on the process.
“Right now, we're in the fund raising phase. I'm fairly confident that we will reach our goal of $30,000 fairly soon. Once we do, we can formally start the sponsorship process,” he said.
They will submit paperwork, including a settlement plan to the Mennonite Central Committee of Ontario.
That organization will then submit the documents to the Government of Canada, who will match Timmins with a refugee family.
“At that point, we will learn more about the family and their profile. From there it can take from 1 to 5 months to the family actually arriving in Timmins,” said Baby.
He was asked who locally is donating to this cause?
“It's coming from several different sources. It's coming from individuals looking to help out. It's coming from different service groups. It's coming from employers in the region and Timmins. We're really happy to see that everybody is willing to contribute,” said Baby.
The Timmins Multicultural Centre has not received much feedback on the matter.
“Nothing too personal. Like anything that you do in public life, there will be some who are opposed to what you're doing, and have different opinions, and that's fine. But we're still 100 percent committed to this effort, we know its the right thing to do,” said Baby.
Bringing a refugee family to Timmins could provide another opportunity to show the hospitality and accepting nature of the city during a time of crisis.
“The family that comes here will be so appreciative that they're here, that I'm sure they're going to have nothing but great things to say about Canada and Timmins.”
Baby says it's something that he and his colleagues feel very strongly about and negative comments do not reflect the sentiments of the majority of locals.
“The messages I receive have been extremely positive and people who give financially or not, people are also volunteering their time, their services, to me its been overwhelmingly positive,” he said.
Many of the people opposed to the matter believe that those closest to their homes deserve support ahead of anyone from overseas.
Mayor Black made a point to address that sentiment at Monday evening's city council meeting.
“We do provide $6 million to the DSAB for housing services and social assistance every year on an annual basis,” he said.
There are several steps ahead, so the Syrian family likely will not arrive in Timmins until early in the new year.
The Timmins Multicultural Centre is currently working on a settlement plan with community partners and volunteers, which will be part of the package submitted to the Government of Canada.
“That settlement plan will detail everything from housing to transport, education, language services, anything that the family will need in the first year will be detailed in this plan,” said Baby.
Anyone wishing to contribute financially to this cause can do so through the City of Timmins website.
Cheques can also be dropped off at City Hall where donors will receive a receipt.
Those who wish to make financial donations, volunteer their time, or receive more information on the initiative can contact Tom Baby at the Timmins Multicultural Centre at 705-269-8622, or email him at [email protected]
The Mayor believes in the people of Timmins as being kind-hearted.
“I am happy the committee is stepping up to sponsor a family and encouraged to see the amount of support and donations from throughout the community despite some of the negative misguided comments being made,” said Black.
