Harper won’t add to refugee commitments

SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Canada will not accept more than the 10,000 Middle East refugees it’s already promised, according to Stephen Harper.

The Conservative leader spoke in Surrey today, after seeing the picture of the dead Syrian boy that has been shared around the world.

Stephen Harper was asked specifically about the photograph and his reaction to it. He says as parents, he and his wife Laureen were very upset.

“The first thing that crossed our minds was remembering our own son Ben at that age,” said Harper, his voice wavering. “I think that brings tears to your eye.”

“As I indicated at the beginning of the campaign… we are going to accept more refugees from this region, from Syria and Iraq. That’s an announcement I’ve already made,” he said, pointing to his party’s previous commitments.

He was asked a number of times if a Conservative government would go beyond those promises, in terms of refugee intake. He did not answer directly. Instead, he said more humanitarian and military efforts were needed due to the scale of displacement in the region.

Harper repeated that Canada takes in more refugees per capita than any other country.

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