CANADA has done more for refugees fleeing wars in Iraq and Syria than most countries, but a small church threatens to tarnish the country’s sparkling reputation.

Father Amer Saka, a priest at St. Joseph’s Chaldean Catholic Church in Ontario, is under investigation by local police over reports he gambled away $500,000 in donations.

According to local news outlets, the money had been donated for the purpose of resettling refugees.

Saka allegedly confessed to losing the money to Reverend Emanual Shaleta, who became head of Canada’s Chaldean eparchy last year.

Shaleta told VICE he became suspicious about Saka after a woman from the church revealed a sponsorship Shaleta never knew existed. He confronted Saka who confessed over the phone in February.

“He was supposed to let me know as a new bishop (that he was personally collecting money). He did not tell me. I asked him, ‘Are you participating in the program?’ He said, ‘No.’ I told him I need to know everything,” Shaleta said.

“He told me he gambled the money away, but I don’t know if that’s true. How can I believe him?”

Shaleta said he acted immediately by suspending the priest. He told the London Free Press, a newspaper in Ontario, that donors were devastated.

“They trusted him, this money was not for him,” he said. “It was to be given back to the refugees.”

The news is unwelcome in a country doing so much for refugees. In just four months, Canada has resettled as estimated 25,000 refugees fleeing the crisis in Syria.

Tim Finch from the UK’s National Refugee Welcome Board said Canada was an “inspiration” and “people close to refugee issues follow Canada’s efforts closely”.

“We wish we had a leader who saw welcoming refugees not as a chore but as something to be proud of,” Mr Finch told Toronto’s The Star.

Saka has been parish priest at St. Joseph’s for eight years, The Free Press reported. His parish has a congregation of about 100 families.