Companies offer flights, subsidized housing to Syrian refugees

As Canada continues to make good on its promise to accept Syrian refugees, businesses are beginning to assist the cause.

Enerjet Charter Airlines says it plans to offer its private jets to aid with the transport of refugees to Canada as well as the relocation of the refugees within the country.

“We have an opening in our agenda, in our schedule, we can fill and that’s just a matter of coordinating,” said Darcy Morgan, Enerjet’s director and vice president of business integration. “In terms of the costs, our operating costs are same whether we’re flying refugees or other passengers.”

“We have people with great experience in moving people. We have airplanes that are available. We wanted to make sure the federal government knew that Enerjet, and the people working for Enerjet, are prepared to help.”

An estimated 1,000 refugees are expected to relocate to Calgary and their arrival coincides with an increase in rental vacancies.  Representatives of Boardwalk Rental Communities plan to subsidize a portion of the monthly rental charge on as many as 60 apartment units on one year leases.

“Each refugee family is going to be sponsored either by the federal government or by private sponsorship,” said David McIlveen, Boardwalk’s director of community development. “Within those sponsorships they have a budget and they have a rental budget. What we’re doing is we’re going to participate by giving an in kind donation, reducing the rate effectively by $150 a month.”

“It will help the refugee families stretch their budget but it’s also kind of part of a bigger community effort that will ultimately stretch the federal government’s budget and kind of ease the burden on everybody.”

When it comes to the Syrian refugees, McIlveen hopes the new arrivals will choose to remain Boardwalk tenants.

“If we do a great job and they like living in our apartments, which many of our residents do, they’ll stay.”

McIlveen says Boardwalk has previously partnered with homeless organizations to provide shelter to people in need.

With files from CTV's Chris Epp