Pressure is mounting on the federal government to do something about the Syrian refugee crisis following provincial government contributions.
Immigration lawyer Lee Cohen says Ottawa’s response has been poor.
“This is nonsense of a scale that I can't even describe,” he said.
On Friday, the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick governments announced they would each donate $50,000 to the relief efforts.
“The federal government controls the entry point to Canada for all refugee,” said Diana Whalen, the Nova Scotia deputy premier. “If the federal government says we will take more, we've said we are ready, willing and anxious to play a role.”
New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant says the province has made it clear to the federal government that they’re more than willing to accept refugees.
“Obviously we're all one big community and we have to help those in need,” he said.
Cohen says unless the federal government changes the process, very few refugees will make it to Canada.
“I have not yet, in the 30-some years that I’ve been doing this, seen a person claim refugee status outside of Canada and succeed,” he said.
Individuals or groups can sponsor refugees, but experts say that can be difficult to navigate.
Cohen says he hopes the federal government will be forced to respond to public outcry.
“As cynical as this may sound, the Canadian government is realizing that votes are at risk here,” he said.
George Soumi is a Syrian living in Halifax. He thinks European and Scandinavian countries have done far more than Canada to help Syrians.
“They deserve to live a better life than the war that's happening over there,” he said. “I think they should kind of ease the process to get in to this country.”
With pressure mounting on all sides, many are saying it’s now up to the federal government to respond.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie.
