Wade MacLauchlan, P.E.I. premier, agrees with delayed refugee plan

P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan says he agrees with the federal government's decision to delay the arrival of some of the Syrian refugees Canada has promised to take in.

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​Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that 10,000 refugees will come in the first wave by the end of 2015, with another 15,000 arriving by the end of February. 

"It was explained by the prime minister as a way to accommodate all of the logistics and the steps involved in bringing the refugees here,"  MacLauchlan told CBC News: Compass anchor Bruce Rainnie in an exclusive live interview as he returned from the first ministers meetings in Ottawa. 

Everyone went out of there feeling we had been part of something very positive and correct.— P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan

"It's not a change whatsoever in the commitment to meet the targets that have been announced." 

MacLauchlan said he wants to see the process unfold smoothly, and refugees get off to a good start when they do land on P.E.I.

He said he will make an announcement later this week with more specifics on the plan to bring 100 families to P.E.I.

"That's our aspirational target, I'll call it, Bruce," MacLauchlan said, adding he's eager for Islanders to "show our humanitarian generosity to the refugees who will come here."

Climate change voice will be 'cohesive'

The other major discussions at the federal-provincial meetings Monday focused on climate change, and what Canada will present as emission-reduction targets at global meetings in Paris next week, which MacLauchlan and other premiers will attend with Trudeau.

"There won't be any climate change deniers there, and there won't be any countries there running interference. This is going to be a real collaboration from countries around the world."

He said P.E.I. is on the right track to fight climate change with wind and biomass power generation, but needs to come up with more technological advances.

"Culture change might be the biggest or the toughest one," said MacLauchlan. "Take shorter showers, walk instead of take the car somewhere. Walk outside instead of turning on the heat pump to cool the house."

And what did MacLauchlan think of the first federal-provincial meetings in years?

"Everybody walked out of there feeling we were proud to be in public life, and proud to be part of a team that's doing the work of a nation," he said, noting the prime minister hugged all the premiers, to the surprise of some.

"His commitment, his capability," MacLauchlan said of Trudeau's ability to lead the meetings. "Everyone went out of there feeling we had been part of something very positive and correct."