First Canadian government plane carrying Syrian refugees arrives in Toronto



TORONTO (AP) — The first Canadian government plane carrying Syrian refugees has arrived in Toronto.


A military flight carrying 163 refugees arrived late Thursday where they will be greeted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They are the first large group of Syrian refugees arriving by government aircraft.



The newly elected Liberal government is pushing forward with its pledge to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February amid an intense debate in the West over what to do with people fleeing violence in the Middle East.

Canada's welcoming stands in stark contrast to the U.S.