By Joanna Frketich

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/6255805-refugees-motivated-but-needs-higher-than-thought-report/
Syrian refugees have higher needs than originally expected, states a federal government report.

More than half of those applying to be government assisted are children.

About three-quarters speak no English or French.

The refugees are resourceful and highly motivated to work to the point that they’ve risked arrest in Jordan.

But only the men have experience and mostly in “low-skilled” jobs.
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by Damien Gayle

More than 52,000 crossed in January, says IOM, as Merkel defends open-door policy and says most refugees will eventually return home

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/30/refugee-arrivals-greece-exceed-52000-january

More than 52,000 refugees and migrants crossed the eastern Mediterranean to reach Europe in the first four weeks of January, more than 35 times as many as attempted the crossing in the same period last year.

The daily average number of people making the crossing is nearly equivalent to the total number for the whole month of January as recently as two years ago, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

More than 250 people have died attempting to make the crossing this month, including at least 39 who drowned in the Aegean Sea on Saturday morning after their boat capsized between Turkey and Greece.

Turkish coastguards rescued 75 others from the sea near the resort of Ayvacik on Saturday, according to the Anadolou news agency. They had been trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos.
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Many Syrians look for homes in Mississauga, Hamilton, Burlington

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/syrian-refugees-waiting-in-gta-hotels-face-hurdle-in-cost-of-housing-1.3425407

When Maher Azem went to meet government-assisted Syrian refugees at a hotel in Toronto’s west end, he expected to be helping out with translation or transportation.

He certainly didn’t expect that it would become his job to find them housing.

But today, Azem is spending almost every spare hour he has helping find housing for dozens of government-assisted refugee families. He heads up a volunteer housing committee for the newly formed Syrian Canadian Foundation.

It’s a frustrating task made harder by the fact that the families are often large and landlords aren’t always too keen on housing people with no credit history.

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From January 2014 to October 2015, Fraser Health referred approximately 500 patients to the federal police force tasked with immigration enforcement.

by Travis Lupick on December 9th, 2015

http://www.straight.com/news/593441/metro-vancouver-hospitals-refer-hundreds-immigration-cases-border-police

Byron Cruz has encountered the sorts of situations that arise when someone is afraid a trip to a hospital could end with them being deported from the country.
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He once helped a man injured on a construction site connect with a veterinarian who stitched closed a deep cut, for example. And Cruz says it’s common for pregnant women to seek his network’s help for deliveries.

“My number works as a 911 number for undocumented people,” he said, interviewed at his office in the Downtown Eastside. “We never announced our services, but my number has been given to people as the number they can call. That is very scary, because 911 is for emergencies.”

Cruz is an organizer with Sanctuary Health, a group that promises people can access care without fear of any complication that might arise from their immigration status.

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by Travis Lupick on December 16th, 2015

http://www.straight.com/news/598146/undocumented-immigrants-raise-alarm-border-cops-appear-enforcement-towards-years-end

A sizable community of Metro Vancouver residents is on alert this holiday season, fearing raids by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA).

In a telephone interview, Harsha Walia, an organizer with No One Is Illegal (NOII), reported that the organization has seen a sharp spike in calls from undocumented immigrants asking for assistance.

“We usually get three to five calls a week, and the last month we got probably close to double,” she said. “We are getting more calls from people who are in detention, more calls from people who had just been visited at their homes or workplaces with deportation orders.”

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