Steinbach ready but still waiting for Syrian refugees, immigration director says

A Steinbach immigration program director says the city is ready and willing to take government-assisted Syrian refugees but it's at a holding point with the federal and provincial government. 

Richard Harder said the Manitoba government approached Eastman Immigrant Services in January to see if the city had the capacity to take Syrian families. He hasn't heard anything since.

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"There is no reason why we couldn't do quite well with Syrian refugees," said Harder. "We told them that there [were] a couple of things that we probably missed that big centres had but we had community support behind us."

The provincial government asked the organization if the city has an English as an additional language program, public transportation, a mosque and if the city's schools can handle more kids. 

Steinbach doesn't have a public transportation system or mosque but Harder said community members have driven privately sponsored refugees to mosques in Winnipeg. 

"I've heard other community members say they're quite willing to do that initially until [the government-sponsored refugees] can be self-sufficient," he said.

We can do it. Trust us, give us a chance, give us a couple, see how it works and we'll take more.- Richard Harder

He said he's spoken to at least eight church communities that said they're willing to host a government-assisted refugee family in addition to privately sponsored refugee families.

"They understand the day-to-day need, which could be driving them to and from shopping, EAL classes, to the doctor, to the mosque," he said.

Harder said the city feels comfortable taking in three to five families initially then re-evaluating if they have enough resources to take on more.

"In terms of absorbing families into the labour force, I think we can have many families," he said. "We would just want to be cautious that we don't exceed our housing availability and at the beginning that wouldn't scare us."

Harder said small communities aren't for everyone but the city has already attracted a couple of Syrian families. 

"We already have a small pool. That's how all of our cultures have started, including our Russian and German group, our Filipino group, and they have done quite well," he said.

"I remember one person saying to me, 'I've lived here now for one year and I still have stress in my bones from the rush, rush, rush of the big city where I came from. I like small communities," he said.

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Based on the organization's first conversation with the provincial government, Steinbach should have already received Syrian families, Harder said.

He has no timeline for when government-sponsored refugees will come to the city, if at all.

"What we're saying is let's have a little bit of patience, continue preparing and brace ourselves," he said. "We can do it. Trust us, give us a chance, give us a couple, see how it works and we'll take more."

Provincial officials have yet to respond to CBC's request for comment.