The following statement was read in the House of Assembly today by the Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills:
Speaker, it is important for me to report to the House that yesterday evening, a plane carrying 116 Afghan refugees arrived in St. John’s to begin a new life in a new country and under very new circumstances. Speaker we look forward to the tremendous contribution our new residents will make to the province and to our country, but we must first acknowledge the incredible contribution that they have already made.
As we are aware, during the course of the war against tyranny in Afghanistan, extremely brave and principled Afghan people chose to stand up and work cooperatively with Canadian and NATO-led efforts to create security, to help educate children, including girls, to build infrastructure to improve the quality of life within Afghanistan and to bring greater social justice to everyone in that country. They did so knowing that this would place them in direct harm’s way from those who opposed these efforts.
The people who arrived here last night are those very same leaders; those who stood up and stood out. They, and the families that accompany them, deserve our steadfast respect and support. We owe it to them as a country. Newfoundland and Labrador is doing its part.
I would further like to acknowledge that when the Federal Government took the decision to direct this group of Afghans to St. John’s under its government-sponsored refugee program, they did so feeling confident that they would be welcomed with open arms by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. This is the first group of Afghans to land in Canada outside of Calgary or Toronto.
The Federal Government will provide resettlement supports to all of these heroes for the next year and even longer as required. They will work with their chosen settlement services provider, the Association for New Canadians, to assist them and with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to prepare to welcome newly arriving children to schools and to support efforts to find housing for arriving families.
Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the team effort of professionals from the Association for New Canadians, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Eastern Health, Health and Community Services, Children, Seniors and Social Development, Newfoundland and Labrador English School District, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation and my own department of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills who have been working together to welcome these courageous heroes.
As these individuals and families settle in to life in Newfoundland and Labrador, I ask that you please respect their privacy. And for those of you who want to help, please contact the Association for New Canadians.
Thank you.