Defence minister reaches out to Syrian refugees in wake of pepper-spray attac
VANCOUVER — A prominent member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet is reaching out to Syrian refugees after a group of newly arrived migrants were pepper sprayed at a welcome event in Vancouver.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan described Friday night’s attack as an “isolated incident” and said the Syrian refugees he met with the following day were resilient and happy to be in Canada.
“In the last 24 hours I was able to visit a mosque, a church and a Sikh gurdwara, all communities who are supporting and welcoming refugees. That’s the real Canadian way,” he said on Sunday.
“It’s so good to see communities rallying around after an event like that to be able to say that, ‘No, this is who we really are.’”