Private sponsors frustrated as Syrian refugees wait in hotel limbo

The Liberal government may have been late on hitting its initial targets for bringing Syrian refugees into the country, but it seems that now they're arriving too quickly.  

Resettlement agencies in some of Canada's biggest cities — Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal — say that they're overwhelmed. And they've asked the government for some time to work through a growing backlog of cases.

In the meantime, many refugees have found themselves waiting in hotels for weeks before they find a home. 

But even while government-sponsored refugee families sit waiting in hotels, there are private groups across the country with empty apartments ready and waiting for the families they've sponsored. 

Guests in this segment:

• Leila Canon-Ahern, leader of Syria to the 6, a neighbourhood sponsorship group in Toronto
• Gerry Mills, director of operations at the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, or ISANS.

Eganville, Ont. welcomes their first Syrian family

Thanks to the dedication of Valley Welcome, a group of local sponsors, a Syrian family of 14 will be calling Eganville, Ontario home. Valley Welcome went to great lengths to not only settle the refugees they originally planned for but included reuniting sisters.

Three of the group's organizers spoke to the CBC's Hallie Cotnam about their story and the wild ride to bring these specific refugees home.
 

This segment was produced by The Current's Julian Uzielli, Marino Greco and Marc Apollonio.