By Rod Nickel and Kevin Dougherty
WINNIPEG, Manitoba/MONTREAL, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A plan by
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accept 25,000 Syrian
refugees by the end of the year appeared in jeopardy on Monday
after one province urged him to scrap it because of security
concerns and another said the timetable was impossible.
The immigration minister in the mostly French-speaking
province of Quebec, Kathleen Weil, said she does not believe
Trudeau's goal is realistic. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N13B1N1
"I'm going to be frank," Weil told reporters. "I don't
think it is possible by the end of the year."
Separately, the premier of the province of Saskatchewan,
Brad Wall, urged Trudeau to re-evaluate the goal in light of
Friday's attacks in Paris and the chance of admitting operatives
trained by Islamic State. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N13B1NP
"If even a small number of individuals who wish to do harm
to our country are able to enter Canada as a result of a rushed
refugee resettlement process, the results could be devastating,"
Wall said in a letter to the prime minister.
Wall's objection and Weil's skepticism about the timetable
add growing pressure on Trudeau to adjust his election campaign
promise. Trudeau reiterated on Sunday that Canada will admit
25,000 Syrian refugees before Jan. 1. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N13A03V
Trudeau's Liberals won a majority in Parliament in October,
unseating the nine-year-old government of Conservative Stephen
Harper, who had emphasized national security and wanted to
accept fewer refugees at a slower pace.
Wall, who is close with the Conservatives, commended
Trudeau's goal of helping refugees, most of whom "pose no threat
to anyone." But he said it should not come at the cost of
Canadian safety.
One of the attackers may have entered Europe as a refugee.
The holder of a Syrian passport found near the body of one of
the gunmen who died in Friday night's attacks in Paris was
registered as a refugee in several European countries last
month, authorities said.
Asked to comment on Quebec petitions against accepting the
refugees, Weil said people "want to be reassured" that
precautions were being taken to verify the identities of
refugees accepted by Canada.
"I think there is of course, it's obvious, a heightened
sensitivity to these issues," Weil said.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees conducts
first screening in refugee camps in Lebanon and the Canadian
Security and Intelligence Service then screens for possible
criminal or terrorist connections before they leave for Canada,
she said.
(Editing by Steve Orlofsky)