Chris Alexander defends Canada’s refugee response

Immigration minister says media has overlooked crisis

The plight of Syrian refugees was brought into the spotlight today after a picture of a drowned child circulated on social media. The boy was found lying face down on a Turkish beach. It is believed he was three years old. Turkish media are reporting his mother and older brother also died trying to reach Europe.  More than four million refugees have fled Syria since the crisis began in 2011. There are also more than seven million internally displaced people within Syria. Amid what has been called the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, the immigration minister says Canada has taken in “approximately 2,500” Syrian refugees to date.

“The numbers grow quickly through private sponsorship and government assistance. We also have brought over 20,000 Iraqi refugees,” Chris Alexander said.

Alexander, who has served as immigration minister since July 2013 and is running for re-election in Ontario, accused media of ignoring the Syrian refugee crisis.

Alexander went on to say that “the biggest conflict and humanitarian crisis of our time has been there for two years, and you and others have not put it in the headlines where it deserves to be.”