Despite the federal government’s goal of bringing 25,000 refugees to Canada by next year, Carleton supports only two refugees. The university supports two students at a cost of $20,000 per year for each, with the help of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC).
There is talk of supporting two more refugees, but Carleton said they will need funding for this to happen.
The Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) submitted a letter signed by WUSC stating that Carleton was not doing enough. The letter noted that Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson didn’t include Carleton as one of the education partners he thanked for their work with the refugee crisis at the Mayor’s Forum on Syrian Refugee Resettlement Efforts.
Carleton is a wealthy institution and one that can do a lot better than four refugees, especially in a crisis like this. The fact that the organization Carleton is partnering with to support the few refugees already at Carleton signed a letter that said the university needs to do more should be a wake up call.
Ryerson University, OCAD University, York University, and the University of Toronto have partnered to bring in 75 Syrian refugee families—the equivalent of 300 people. The University of Ottawa is aiming to raise $400,000 while donating its own $200,000 to the cause.
If Canada wants to reach its goal of 25,000 refugees, institutions like Carleton need to listen to the students and organizations such as WUSC who are telling the university to step up and do its part.
