Quebec pledges to take in 3,650 Syrian refugees: minister

Quebec's immigration minister pledged today that the Canadian province would take in 3,650 Syrian refugees by year's end and asked the federal government to help facilitate the process.
Kathleen Weil said the mainly French-speaking province aims to take in an additional 2,450 refugees on top of the already foreseen 1,200 in a move she said reflects demands by local Quebecois who want to do more in support of those in need.
Several provincial governments and the mayors of Toronto and Montreal among others had called on the federal government last week to do much more to allay the plight of hundreds of thousands of desperate people flooding into Europe from bloody conflicts in Syria, Iraq and beyond.

Without waiting, Quebec's liberal government had decided to "significantly increase the number of admissions of Syrian refugees" this year, Weil said.
"To the 1,200 admissions already planned, are added a goal of 2,450 for a total of 3,650 this year," she added.
The plan foresees that two-thirds of the refugees would be welcomed via private sponsorship -- often involving humanitarian aid groups or religious organizations -- and a third through a government program.
"These extraordinary measures that we are proposing come in response to demands by Quebecois who want to do more to support the Syrian refugees," Weil said.
The European migrant crisis is currently at the front and center of Canada's election campaign ahead of voting on October 19.