Slumping Alberta economy could benefit Syrian refugees

Mayor Don Iveson said Edmonton is "equal to the task" of settling more than a thousandSyrian refugees by the end of the year, despite an affordable housing crisis.

He and Calgary Mayor Neheed Nenshi spoke about the refugee crisis on CBC's Alberta at Noon with Donna McElligot on Wednesday.

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While it's not yet clear how many refugees will land in Alberta's capital city,Ivesonsaid the biggest challenge will be finding them a place to live.

He said the province-wide economic downturn could benefit refugees, as vacancy rates start to open up.

"We happen in Alberta, because of the economic situation, to have a little bit of extra capacity in our rental markets to be able to accommodate folks,"Ivesonsaid.

The vacancy rate in Edmonton has recently reached as high as 4.2 per cent, the highest since 2009.

Ivesoncharacterizedarguments against welcoming refugees on the basis that the government should look after local people first as "xenophobia or fear mongering."

"This can be another example that we look back on as Canada doing what it does best, which is being a light to the world in terms of multiculturalism, and in terms of inclusion and in terms of humanitarianism," he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has committed to bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of 2015. Premier RachelNotley says Alberta will take between 2,500 to 3,000 but the final number is still being worked out.

The city is working withCalgary, the province, and the federal government to create a plan to help settle the refugees when they arrive.

The Red Cross is also coordinating with Edmonton Catholic Social Services and Islamic Social Services and Resources Association to ease the refugees' transition into Canadian life.

"It's important for us to be ready at a municipal level in terms of housing, settlement activities, language training," Nenshi said.

Nenshi said Calgary is also working with private sector landlords to accommodate refugees.

"If this were a year ago, when our vacancy rate was close to zero, it would be a very different conversation," he said.