Prince George, B.C.-  Mayor and Council for the City of Prince George  have approved an emergency  resolution to be  considered  at the upcoming Union of BC Municipalities  Conference.

“Canada has a history of helping out when we need to help out” said Councillor Brian Skakun.

The  emergency resolution  reads as follows:

• WHEREAS the Canadian volunteer organization Lifeline Syria, citing statistics from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), reports that as Syria enters its fifth year of civil war:
  nearly 12 million people – fully half the country’s population – are homeless, including 4 million refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries, and 7 million internally displaced people inside Syria;  
• amongst the 12 million homeless people are 4.2 million Syrian children who have fled their homes; 
• 90,000 Syrian refugees are registered by UNHCR every month; 
• more than 250,000 Syrian people have died; and  a
• as of March 2015 nearly 254,000 Syrians had requested asylum in Europe;

AND WHEREAS the federal government has committed to resettle a total of 11,300 Syrian refugees in Canada from 2015 through 2017:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that, in light of the discrepancy between the large number of refugees with documented resettlement needs and the relatively small number of people the federal government has offered to assist, the federal government review and implement significant increases and expedited processing times for its humanitarian aid and resettlement commitments;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government report out regularly to the Canadian public on the federal government’s progress toward achieving the above objectives;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government implement additional assistance, in partnership with the United Nations or other humanitarian organizations, to actively address the urgent needs of Syrians inside Syria, including providing assistance to those wishing to leave Syria;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED  that the federal government reach out to local governments, nonprofit organizations and community groups across Canada that wish to assist in relocation efforts, providing information, advice and connections to ensure that the assistance Canadians extend to refugees is timely, appropriate and effective.

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The deadline  for resolutions is  Friday September 18th, UBCM Resolutions Committee reviews all late resolutions. The Resolutions Committee then identifies which (if any) late resolutions raise emergency issues, which are defined as issues that have arisen after the regular resolution submission deadline of June 30.  The Committee then provides recommendations on the handling of late resolutions, and whether or not late resolutions dealing with emergency issues should be admitted to the convention for debate.  The  UBCM  conference starts on the 21st through to the 25th.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities  has also  passed an Emergency Recommendation to coordinate the efforts of cities and communities across the country to amplify the effectiveness of local initiatives already underway.

“Local governments are critical to the success of Canada’s response to this deeply troubling situation. Prince George will join communities across country to play a key role in any effort to resettle families fleeing violence in Syria. Through our coordinated actions we can maximize the size and the speed of Canada’s response,” said FCM board member and Councillor Garth Frizzell. The FCM recommendation establishes a  Task Force on Refugee Resettlement to coordinate an effective response from the local government perspective.  The Task Force will enable municipalities to share information and best practices.  It will also provide an efficient means of coordinating with our provincial, territorial and federal counterparts to meet immediate and urgent resettlement targets.