Alan Kurdi's death a wakeup call for government

 

My brother says to me its my kids has to be the wake up call for the whole world. He says to me my message to the whole world is please help those people crossing that water. Don't let them take that journey anymore. I don't want people to die anymore. It has to be my kids so the world will wakeup.- Fatima Kurdi, sister to Abdullah Kurdi, father of Syrian boys whose bodies washed up on a beach in Turkey

Fatima Kurdi is Abdullah Kurdi's sister. Her brother's sons and wife were drowned -- like too many other migrants from Syria -- seeking a better life. 

And, of course, it's the image of her 3-year-old nephew Alan Kurdi's lifeless body washed up on a beach that's done so much to press home the urgency of the Syrian refugee crisis -- around the world, and here in Canada.
 

The refugee crisis has become an election issue here in Canada now, especially after rumours that the boy and his family had applied for refugee status in Canada.  That turned out not to be the case, but it's certainly become an issue all the parties have been pressed to address. 
    
To talk about Canada's role in this crisis, Chris Alexander, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and the Conservative candidate for Ajax.He joined us from Ottawa. 

To hear how the other political parties would respond to the refugee crisis in Syria, we were joined by:

• Paul Dewar, the former NDP foreign affairs critic. He was in Ottawa.
• John McCallum, the former Liberal Critic for Citizenship and Immigration, Multiculturalism, and Seniors. He was in our Toronto studio.
   

Has the Syrian refugee crisis become an election issue?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Sujata Berry, Josh Bloch and Ottawa Producer, Max Paris.