Article content

MARKHAM, Ont. — Neil Jones is 6’1″ and has a bad back, one that requires stretching, especially after he has been standing around in a Toronto airport terminal for several hours, waiting. Others were waiting, too, on Dec. 10, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a great mob of reporters eager for a glimpse of the Syrian refugees on the first official government flight to arrive in Canada.

Jones, with his back, was doing some contortions when a reporter asked if he was there for the refugees.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Canada's other refugees: 26,000 arrive annually without fanfare or an official welcome Back to video

“There were tons of reporters,” says Joy Vaz, Jones’s wife. “This guy comes up to Neil and says, ‘Are you waiting for the refugees?’ Neil says, ‘Yes,’ but then he says, ‘We’re waiting for Africans, not Syrians.’

“The reporter just walked away. He was not interested. Isn’t that interesting?”

Canadians are bending over backwards to donate money, clothes, furniture, time, apartments and more to ensure the 25,000 Syrian refugees headed this way in the coming months understand that we — as a nation — care. And it is a great thing, all this caring about Syrians. It shows the very best of what Canada can be.