161 Syrian refugees arrive in Montreal

A plane with161 Syrian refugees has arrived in Montreal,the first to land in the city as part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plan to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees to the country by the end of February.

Upon landing, they were ushered to a processing centre where they were given winter clothes, documents, Teddy bears for the children, and health check-ups.

All but one person in this group are expected to settle in Quebec. The other person will continueto Prince Edward Island.

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The refugeeson theflight wereprivately sponsored.Family members and sponsors waited anxiously to greet them outside the special welcome centre set up to process the newcomers.

Michel Kanouwas waiting to meet his cousin Yad for the first timeand drive him to his home.

"It's war over there. And sometimes they don't have food for days, they don't have electricity for days. They don't have anything to drink, water or anything. And now they're going to have a good life over here, a new life hopefully," Kanou said.

They were also greeted byQuebec PremierPhilippe Couillard,Montreal MayorDenis Coderre, Heritage MinisterMlanie Jolyand Minister of Immigration, Refugeesand CitizenshipJohn McCallum.

Provincial cabinet ministers, including the ministers of Immigration, Public Securityand Health, werealso be at the airport upon the refugees' arrival.

After visiting the facilities that processed the refugees,Couillard said he was impressed by volunteers who were"exceedingly well-prepared."

"I told the volunteers thatit makes me extremely proud that we as a people are able to turn a horrible situation that these people are fleeing, and show them the face of freedom, the face of the welcome, the true face of brotherhood,"Couillard told reporters.

The province will welcome 3,650 refugees by Dec. 31, and a total of7,300 by the end of 2016. The vast majority of those newcomers will stay in Montreal.

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