Filipiniana News – December 2015 RHYME & REASON Why does Canada resettle refugees? In the past weeks, the new Liberal government's determined efforts towards fulfilling its election promise of admitting 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2015 have dominated news reports in Canada and internationally. Most recently, this target had been modified to 10,000 Syrian refugees by end of 2015, an additional 15,000 by end of February 2016 and another 10,000 before the end of 2016. These quantities may sound generous but put in perspective, this is actually a very tiny portion of about 9 million Syrian refugees who have been displaced from their homes since the civil war started in their country in early 2011. While the Canadian government and private sponsor initiatives to welcome Syrian refugees are truly commendable, many are still asking the basic question: why is Canada resettling refugees? To get the official answers, I hav...