Ottawa To Double Iraqi Refugees Accepted This Year

Ottawa to double Iraqi refugees accepted this year

The Toronto Star
Mar 20, 2008 04:30 AM

VANCOUVER–Canada intends to accept more than double the number of refugees from Iraq this year, says Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley.

Finley announced the move yesterday as the war-torn country marked the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion

Finley said Canada will accept 1,800 to 2,000 Iraqi refugees in 2008. Last year, Canada accepted about 900 people from Iraq.

Canada will raise its Middle East resettlement target to 3,000 people this year, up 54 per cent from 2007, Finley said.

Each year, 19 states resettle about 100,000 refugees; from that number Canada yearly resettles about 10,000 to 12,000 from 70 different nationalities, or about 10 per cent of all refugees resettled globally.

The Canadian Press