Refugees struggle because Canada ill-prepared for them, MP says

A Winnipeg-bornConservative MP says Canada has moved too fast to bring in refugees.

"Food bank usage is one symptom of this [as is] access to affordable housing and access to language training, which helps people find jobs these are all things that we know are lacking," saidMichelleRempel, the Conservative critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, who now lives in Alberta and isthe MP forCalgary Nose Hill.

"It's incumbent upon the government to come up with a plan to deal with this."

Many newly-arrived refugees are having to turn to food banks, saying they can't make ends meet, even with the financial support they're getting from the federal government and sponsors.Anda CBCreportearlier this yearnoted wait lists can be oneto 16 months forfederallyfunded languagecoursesfor newcomers to Canada.

• Syrian refugees turn to food banks as they struggle to cope with high cost of living
• Syrian refugees say they feel trapped without adequate help

RempelsaidOttawa should have planned better, especially since it had made it a goal to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugeesby the end of 2015. The government then had two more months to prepare as the Liberals pushed that deadline to February 2016.

In comparison, U.S. President BarackObama'sadministration set its goal at10,000 Syrian refugees.

"There was such a focus on getting so many people here in such a short period of timethat I worry the government's being caught flat-footed in that they don't have a long-term plan for social inclusion and integration," said Rempel.

"Now we're sort of missing an opportunity to really see the full potential of Syrian refugees come to fruition here in Canada," she added.

"I think that we should be doing everything possible to equip refugees with the abilities and the skills to enter our workforce so they can become self-sustainable. I don'tthinkanybody wants to be on social assistance long term."

• New food bank helps Syrian refugees as they settle in Winnipeg

A new food bank in Winnipeg, the Halal Food Pantry,recentlyopened in the Canadian Muslim Women's Institute, in the city's Centennial area,to help Syrian refugees.

Almost all the clientsare government-assisted refugees,Yasmin Ali, president of Canadian Muslim Women's Institute, said.

There is also another newfood bank in the south end of the city, helpingnewcomerssettling in that part of Winnipeg.