Mr. Kenney goes to Alberta

Mr. Kenneygoes to Alberta.

With just one announcement, Jason Kenney managed to shake up two leadership races.

The Alberta MP wants to lead a party... but not the one he represents in the House of Commons. Instead, Kenney announced on Wednesday that he's going home to seek the top job of the Progressive Conservatives.

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At the same time, that appears to leavethe race to replace Stephen Harper wide open.

One of Jason Kenney's biggest challenges will be to unite the province's right.

"The Progressive Conservative andWildroseParties must put Alberta first," he told the crowd.

"We must put Alberta first and we must focus on the future not the past, what unites us not what divides us, we must come together to form a single free-enterprise party and we must do so before the next election. Because to coin a phrase,Albertanscan't wait," he said.

Alberta PC interim leader Ric McIverjoins us to talk about the challenges his party will face, with or without Jason Kenney.

Senate committee urges immediate action to help Syrian refugees

The Canadian government needs to take action immediately to address some of the issues facing Syrian refugees, including mental health problems and whether they must pay for their own travel, according to a Senate committee on human rights.

The committee is studying the country's Syrian refugee program and is slated to issue a report in the fall, butchose to issue a call for action earlier.

Committee chairman SenatorJim Munsonjoins us to explain why the committee couldn't wait.

The Senate committee recommends:

• Acceleratingprocessing times for the disbursement of child tax benefits to refugees so families do not face undue financial hardship upon their arrival in Canada.
• Replacingloans for transportation and other expenses with grants as they are an economic burden and a source of acute anxiety. Alternatively, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) could introduce a debt-forgiveness mechanism or interest-free loans.
• Increasingfunding for language-training programs that would be made available to refugees upon their arrival and provide child careso parents can attend classes.
• IRCC could work with other departments as well as provincial and territorial governments to draft a comprehensive plan to address the mental health needs of refugees.
• Trying to end differingtreatment for different categories of refugees with respect to processing times for applications, services provided and loan repayment obligations. This would lead to equal treatment for Syrian refugees who have arrived at different times, for government-assisted and privatelysponsored refugees, and for Syrian and non-Syrian refugees.
• Ensuringadequate programming is available to youth, who face unique challenges in the integration process.

The House23:43Mr. Kenney goes to Alberta

What will Jason Kenney's decision to seek the leadership of the Alberta Progressive Conservative party mean? Interim leader Ric McIver talks about the road ahead.