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OTTAWA — Immigration Minister John McCallum says his suggestion there’s a cultural element driving Syrian refugees to food banks was insensitive and he regrets it.

Food banks from Halifax to B.C. have reported serving hundreds of Syrians who have come to Canada since November, the month the Liberal government launched a major resettlement program to bring 25,000 people by the end of February and thousands more by the end of this year.

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The question of why came up Wednesday at a Senate committee studying the refugee resettlement program and McCallum initially pinpointed two reasons: the fact refugees do not have high levels of income upon arrival, and something else.

“There may be a cultural element,” he said. “You have to remember the refugees are coming from an entirely different world.

“Our world is very different than their world. Sometimes they have been living in refugee camps; maybe it’s the norm to be offered meals. I’m not overly concerned about this.”