Government should look at bringing Rohingya refugees to Canada, minister says

Foreign Affairs Minister ChrystiaFreelandsays Canada needs to look into bringing Rohingyarefugees here to reunify families.

"We can just imagine if it were our brothers, sisters, uncles, who were in these dire straits, we would be desperate to bring them to join us in Canada," she told reporters on Saturday.

"I think that is an issue we need to be looking at."

While she said the majority of people she spoke to while visiting the refugee camps in Bangladesh expressed a desire to return to their homes in Myanmar, manyRohingyain Canada have told her they want their family membersto be able to come here.

Freeland is in Bangladesh on a four-day tour focused on the Rohingya refugee crisis.

She said the trip has left her"more convinced than ever of the necessity of a comprehensive, international response to this tragedy."

The camps are home to nearly 900,000 minority Muslim Rohingyaswho have fled a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign in Rakhine State in neighbouring Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Report: Canada should lead efforts to address Rohingya crisis

6 years ago

Duration 4:45

A report from Bob Rae, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus special envoy on the Rohingya crisis, recommends Canada take a lead role in efforts to address it. In his third and final report, Rae says Canada should play a key role at the International Criminal Court during the investigation of possible war crimes and makes 16 recommendations on how Canada could help the Rohingya refugees in Myanmar

There were two overwhelming themes to what she was told by people living in the camps, she said,"A desire for justice and accountability," and"a really strong desire to go home."

Though she spoke of the importance of families being reunited in Canada, she said most of the refugees are simply looking for safety in their home region.

"This is very clear to me that this is a group of people who want to go home," she said.

Freelandalso spoke of the importance of establishing accountability for the human rights violations occurring in Myanmar and developing an international response to the crisis.

Canadawill work to establish a clear pathway towardaccountability, she said.

However, details on what Canada's contributionswould be are still scarce.

Special envoy recommends welcoming refugees

Recommendations were made weeks ago byBob Rae, Canada's special envoy to Myanmar. In his final report, he suggested Canada should ramp up humanitarian aid, development efforts and show a willingness to welcome refugees.

Rae's 17 recommendationsincluded the advice thatCanada should develop a multi-year funding plan beginning this year for a response that focuses on humanitarian assistance, education and supporting infrastructure.

He estimates the annual costs of such a plan, including additional staff at headquarters and abroad, to be about $150 million for the next four years.

The government takes the report seriously, Freelandsaid and more details on how thegovernment has adopted Rae's advice will be released in the near future.