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With 650 Yazidis now in Canada, officials say target of 1,200 in sight

OTTAWA — Immigration department officials say a goal of resettling 1,200 survivors of violence at the hands of Islamic militants by year end is within reach.
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OTTAWA — Immigration department officials say a goal of resettling 1,200 survivors of violence at the hands of Islamic militants by year end is within reach.

Officials are telling the House of Commons immigration committee this morning that as of the end of October, just over 800 people had arrived.

Of them, 81 per cent are Yazidi, a minority sect from Iraq specifically targeted by Islamic militants over the course of the conflict in Iraq and Syria.

The Commons unanimously passed a motion in 2016 calling the persecution of Yazidis a genocide and committing to resettling members of the group.

The target of resettling 1,200 people by the end of this year was subsequently set in February 2017.

Officials says the remainder to be brought to Canada have already been identified and their applications are well underway.