REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, OTTAWA -- Canada has vowed to double its intake of Syrian refugees next year. Minister of immigration and citizenship, John McCallum, said the country's resettlement program would be expanded in 2016 to take 50,000 refugees. McCallum made the announcement from the Jordanian capital of Amman, where he met Syrians heading to Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed some of the first arrivals earlier this month and said Canada was "showing the world how to open our hearts". His new Liberal government had promised to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February.

But McCallum said Canada now hopes to settle as many as 50,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016. The UN refugee agency, the Jordanian government and the International Organization for Migration will be helping to speed up the vetting process, he said.

McCallum also toured development projects and refugee facilities during his two-day visit. The minister spoke to Syrian families as they prepared to board flights to Canada.

"Everyone in Canada is waiting to meet you," he said.

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