The federal government will include gay men among the Syrian refugees it brings into Canada as part of a plan that puts the focus on accepting women, children and families.The Citizen has learned that while the Liberal government, because of potential security concerns, will not accept lone males — at least during the first wave of migrants — this approach will come with an important caveat. The government is sensitive to the fact that gay men escaping violence in the region could be persecuted, so they will be permitted to come to Canada.
But Yazidis, Shiites, and Assyrian Christians are also persecuted by ISIS, and I would assume that that includes the single men among them. So, if we're allowing exemptions for gay men, I don't see any reason not to have them for those minority religious faiths as well.
The government is trying to pander to rednecks and bleeding hearts simulataneously, in a rather inelegant fashion
And there are refugees from other parts of the world too.
It's important for Canadians to have confidence in this project. 54% of Canadians are against it and the refugees are about to begin arriving. There have been attacks on muslims here already. Focusing on bringing in families and women with children does help to calm fears and not just among "rednecks".
Getting chosen to come to Canada is like winning the lottery. Out of millions we are only taking 25K. The more successful this is the more public support there will be for bringing in more. Suggesting to Canadians that this is going to be a financial burden discourages support.