HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia's deputy premier says the province is willing to accept more refugees but hasn't heard back from Ottawa.
Diana Whalen said Thursday that the province told federal officials earlier in the summer that it was willing to help and is now reiterating that position.
Whalen said the issue is important and more should be done.
"We can as a country do more," she said. "I think Canadians and Nova Scotians would like to see our country step up and do more."
Nova Scotia has the ability to accept more refugees, she added.
"We've made it clear we want to open our doors and accept more," Whalen said.
She said the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, which provides refugee support services in the province, has the facilities and the ability to support refugees. The organization is funded by the provincial government.
The number of refugees who are allowed to come to Canada became a federal campaign issue Thursday over a three-year-old Syrian boy whose lifeless body put a devastating human face on the refugee crisis in that country.
