Wadih Fares says Nova Scotia developers preparing for Syrian refugees

A project to house Syrian refugees in Nova Scotia is being pulled together by the province's development community, according to one of Nova Scotia's most noted developers.

"It's an accommodation-type project," Wadih Fares, president of Halifax-based WM Fares Fares, told CBC News Tuesday. He would not discuss details.

"There is an initiative in the works. The developers will be involved in it. I can't talk much about it but let me tell you we are all doing our share."

Fares came to Canada 30 years ago fleeing civil war in his native Lebanon. Since then, the engineer has built a successful business and serves as honorary consul of Lebanon in Halifax.

He is the best known of a number of business leaders from the Middle East who are active in commercial and residential real estate in Halifax. However, he does not attribute the Syrian refugee housing project to the Middle East business community.

"It is the prominent Nova Scotia development community," he said. "It has nothing to do with me being from Middle East or not. We are all going to get together. As I said, there is an initiative that we are working on and everybody will be involved."

Doing the right thing for humanitarian reasons

Fares co-chairs a provincial advisory council on immigration, which he says is one answer to Nova Scotia's stagnant economy.

"We have the opportunity to do the right thing for humanitarian reasons and increase our population," he said.

Fares points out other groups are actively preparing for the arrival of Syrian refugees in Nova Scotia.

On Nov. 16, officials from the Association of Atlantic Universities and the Nova Scotia Community College participated in a conference call with the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration and the Immigrant Settlement Association of Nova Scotia.

The school groups were advised to plan for refugees whose post-secondary education was interrupted.

"We agreed, along with the NSCC, to consider how both institutions might respond to those refugees who may wish to resume their studies," said Peter Halpin, executive director of the Association of Atlantic Universities.

Response a 'work in progress'

In an email to CBC News, Halpin described the response as a "work in progress."

At Dalhousie University, a crowdsourcing initiative has raised nearly $14,000 of its $24,000 goal to pay for student relocation, rent, food and university fees.

The aim is to secure money for more participants under the World University Service of Canada program at Dalhousie.

The university said it will match every dollar raised to create two additional placements for refugees.

As for Fares, he calls the response to the Syrian refugee crisis "a testament to how great Canada can be," although he acknowledges security concerns have increased since the Islamic State attacks in Beirut and Paris.

"We must trust the security agencies and trust our government will take the necessary measures in order for our safety not be compromised," he said.