Syrian, Iraqi refugees living in Sherbrooke meet with Premier Philippe Couillard

A delegationmade up largely ofSyrian and Iraqi refugeesmet with QuebecPremier Philippe Couillard today to urge him to honour hispledge to bring more refugees to the province.

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About 30 members of Sherbrooke's St-Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church travelled to Quebec City to meet with the Premier and Immigration MinisterKathleen Weil.

The church is a cornerstone of the refugee community in Sherbrooke. It hassponsoreddozens of Christian refugees from Syria and Iraq in recent years.

Weil announced that the province will be able to accept refugees sooner.

"We got the confirmation that the files of about 2,000 refugees destined to come to Quebec will be handled by the end of the year," Weil said. "That is very good news for people who were sponsored by a member of theirfamily in Quebec and forcollectivesponsor organizations waiting for them. They can find a haven in Quebec more quickly."

Allen Haddad, one of the organizers of the trip to Quebec City,said he wantsto thank the premier for all he'sdone so far.

"We just want to tell him how much we appreciate the work he's doing in accepting our refugees to come in very fast," said Haddad.

He said the province and country needs to keep the refugee crisis on the political agenda.

"I think finally, the governments are realizing, there's a major problem in the Middle East if you're a Christian, and the only way to help them out is to bring them over," he said.

More refugees in Quebec, premier vows

Couillard said earlier this monththat Quebec is ready to accept "hundreds, if not thousands" of new refugees fleeing war and terrorism.

The refugee-selection process is a shared responsibility between the federal and Quebec governments, and Immigration Minister KathleenWeil said Quebec depends on Ottawa to set the target for state-sponsored refugees acknowledging that objective of 200 for this year is "pretty low."

Sherbrooke is home to over 100 refugees, the majority of which were privately sponsored through St-EphremChurch.