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Canada Prepares to Accept First Plane of Syrian Refugees

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Canada will take in the first flight of Syrian refugees as part of the government’s resettlement plan on Thursday evening when a military plane of 150 refugees touches down at the Pearson International Airport.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be there to welcome the first arrivals of what will be thousands of refugees that Canada will take in over the upcoming months, the Toronto Star reports.

“Resettling refugees demonstrates our commitment to Canadians and to the world that Canada understands that we can and must do more,” Trudeau told the House of Commons. “It will be a great day.”
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The first refugees arrive following promises from Trudeau’s Liberal party to take in 25,000 refugees in all ten of Canada’s provinces. A second military aircraft is due to land on Saturday, according to the Star, as part of the government’s plan to accept 10,000 refugees before the end of 2015 and 15,000 more in the first two months of 2016.

[The Toronto Star]

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Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com