Syrian refugee crisis: Ottawa residents, politicians working to help
CBC News | Posted: September 4, 2015 3:05 PM | Last Updated: September 5, 2015
Mayor and residents initiate help for Syrians, watch with broken hearts
From families pledging to help Syrian refugees come to Canada, to Ottawa's mayor wanting to help, to Syrian refugees who managed to escape the war — the refugee crisis has had an effect in Canada's capital.
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On Thursday, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson wrote a letter to federal immigration minister Chris Alexander asking how the city could help bring more Syrian refugees to Canada.
This is being compared to 1979, when the Vietnamese Boat People were welcomed to Ottawa by then mayor, Marion Dewar, the late mother of Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar.
Some Syrian refugees who now live in Canada say they are grateful for their escape from the war-torn country.
However, they watch the news continue to flow out and expressed how painful and heartbreaking this has become.
One Ottawa couple is pledging to help bring more Syrian refugees to Canada.
Immigration lawyer Jamie Liew and her husband cited a so-called lack of government action as the reason for initiating a private sponsorship of a Syrian family.
Liew said she hopes others will join them.