Canada to give United Nations $750000 for Syrian refugee relief

"Most of the organizations and institutions doing the welcoming will be happy to have a few extra weeks to get ready", said Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, a high-profile umbrella group for the settlement and sponsorship of refugees and immigrants.

In Canada on Thursday, Bibeau told reporters that the money would help the UN High Commissioner for Refugees provide shelter, protection, education and health to some of the millions affected by the Syrian civil war.

Canadian officials and United Nations staff in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey have been working overtime and on weekends to help select the Syrians that will be resettled as part of the Canadian program. Canada will spend up to C$678 million ($510 million) over six years flying in the refugees from Turkey, Syria and Jordan and then helping resettle them.

Bibeau added that the federal government will match Canadians' contributions to the Syrian Emergency Relief Fund, dollar-for-dollar, until the end of the year.

Officials revealed earlier this week that the 25,000 Syrian refugees to enter Canada by February won't have to pay the cost of their flights and pre-flight medical screening. "With over four million Syrian refugees in the region, I hope more countries will follow Canada's example and not only help us address the enormous needs in the neighbouring states but provide more opportunities for refugees to find safety elsewhere".

"I've been saying time and time again, that yes, we want to bring them fast, but we also want to do it right", McCallum said, according to CNN.

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau meets Britain's Queen Elizabeth II during a private audience at Buckingham Palace, London, Wednesday Nov. 25, 2015.

He said Canada faces a constant debate between those "who would have us retrench, close ranks, build walls" and those who recognize that the country's strength lies in its multicultural, polyglot nature.

"For Canada it would be about 11 million refugees - 11 million refugees!"

When refugee claimants arrive, Ayala says the society is often their first point of contact.

The money will go toward providing food, clothing, medicine, schooling and other necessities for refugees in Europe, Syria, Iraq and Egypt.

Thursday's announcement brings to $969 million the total amount of humanitarian assistance from Canada in response to the Syrian crisis.