First Syrian refugees could arrive 'in next few weeks,' says Canadian ambassador

Canada is ramping up its efforts on the ground in the Middle East to process and screen Syrian refugees for resettlement.

Canadian military personnel are operating in Lebanon and more visa officers are arriving to assist in the effort.

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But many of the key details of the Canadian government's effort to resettle 25,000 Syrians remain vague — including when the first chartered planes will depart from the region loaded with refugees.

Michelle Cameron, Canada's ambassador to Lebanon, told CBC News that officials have been processing refugee claims "for a while now," and that the first group of those accepted into Canada will depart by commercial flights.

"When that balance tips, when we're accepting refugees at a rate that makes it more efficient to take a contracted [non-commercial] plane… then we'll tip into that," Cameron said in an interview at the Canadian embassy in Beirut.

"I would expect [the first charter planes to depart] in the next few weeks."

It seems likely that once charter aircraft begin to operate, the flights will depart from one central location, possibly an airport in Jordan.

Refugees from Lebanon and Turkey would be flown there first before making the journey to Montreal or Toronto.

"There might be a scenario where we need to bring them into one centre to more efficiently make sure they're going to either Toronto or Montreal, that we have full planes," Cameron said.

UNHCR combing through databases

There are approximately four million Syrian refugees living in the three countries from which Canada will select candidates for resettlement: Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

There is no application process for Syrians who are interested in moving to Canada. Instead, the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, is combing through its vast database of registered refugees and selecting the most vulnerable for resettlement.

In Turkey, it's believed the Turkish government will undertake that task.

Once the names of candidates are handed over to Canadian officials, visa officers conduct interviews and security checks are carried out.

"We would be looking to make sure they're not on terrorist watch lists, that they're not known members of groups that commit human rights abuses or… members of the [Bashar al-]Assad regime that have committed atrocities against civilians," Cameron said, referring to the current Syrian government.

Cameron said she understands that Canadians have questions and concerns relating to the security of the new arrivals, but said her experience in the region as ambassador for the last eight months has reassured her.

"I have absolutely no security concerns if I was in a [Canadian] community receiving Syrian refugees."

Additional visa officers

To assist with the increased demands of screening and processing, an additional 50 Canadian visa officers have arrived in Lebanon. Because of space limitations, they're operating from a location outside of the embassy.

Another 50 consular staff members are expected to arrive as the effort swings into high gear.

Cameron said she's visited a number of the makeshift settlements in Lebanon where Syrian refugees live in plywood shacks winterized with plastic sheeting. She notes that about 70 per cent of the Syrians living here are doing so under the poverty line.

Most, if they could, would prefer to return to their homes in Syria if and when the war ended. But the ambassador said the current effort to relocate Syrians to countries further afield reflects the dire state of the long-running conflict.

"Their hope is going. When they first arrived, many of the Syrian people who were here thought, 'Oh, maybe just another few months and I'll get to go home.' So that really has had a toll on their thinking and their ability to cope with this kind of situation."