In a display of awe and admiration, the cast of CBS This Morning were stunned to learn of the “generosity and trust” of Canadian families who currently host Syrian refugees in Toronto. During the interview with New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, the hosts were excited to hear of the friendly and open Canadians while painting Americans (primarily Republicans) as “fearful” and Islamophobic.
GAYLE KING: Good morning to you Jodi Kantor. People see the word “Syria” they see the word “refugees” and say no thanks, we don't want them here, please don't come. What do you think makes Canadians so open about this?
JODI KANTOR: Canadians in some ways are placing the opposite bet on Syrian refugees as lot of the
rest of the world. They are not only taking in Syrian refugees, but they are saying come into our homes. We’re ordinary citizens, we have no connection to the Middle East but we are volunteer our time and money and spend a year of our lives getting you settled.GAYLE KING: Why do you think they are doing that?
JODI KANTOR: If you look at the article, it's at nytimes.com/refuges what you will see is that Canada has a different attitude towards immigration and borders. We are a time of closing and protection and fear all over the world. Canada wants more population. They have not experienced a 9/11 type of event in their lifetime. So what readers are telling us about this article that they’re very moved about the generosity and trust they see here because it feels different from what we see elsewhere in the world.
NORAH O’DONNELL: It does feel different. After a debate in which many Republican governors said “no we will block these Syrian refugees in our state”, President Obama said we will take just 10,000 refuges.
but so far, we have only taken about half of that amount?JODI KANTOR: Yes but also to be fair, we don't know what is going to happen with this Canadian project, right?
While CBS kept referencing this as a charitable “sponsorship program”, they actually ignored the true intention of the program. There is nothing private or charitable about the refugee sponsorship at all, in fact it was a program not only created by socialist Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but also government planned and executed. According to the Canadian Liberal Party’s website:
“Many Canadians have already offered to help those fleeing Syria, and it is time for the federal government to offer more help, too. We have a responsibility to expand our refugee targets and give more victims of war a safe haven in Canada…We will expand Canada’s intake of refugees from Syria by 25,000 through immediate government sponsorship. We will also work with private sponsors to accept even more. To do this, we will invest $250 million, including $100 million this fiscal year, to increase refugee processing, as well as sponsorship and settlement services capacity in Canada.”
The segment ended with Charlie Rose jumping in and commending the program, stating “it starts with a good idea to welcome them.”
