NDP candidate Fin Donnelly is not backing down from comments he made in the wake of the death of three-year old Syrian boy Alan Kurdi who drowned along with his brother and mother in an attempt to reach Europe.
“This is a horrible situation,” Donnelly told CBC News Network’s Power and Politics. “This is not about blame — this is about finding solutions.”
Donnelly has been criticized for his role in the confusion surrounding the Kurdi family’s attempts to come to Canada.
After images of Alan’s body drew worldwide attention last week,Donnelly revealed that he had personally delivered a letter to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Chris Alexander, asking him to grant the Kurdi family refugee status.The boy’s aunt, Tima Kurdi, lives in Donnelly’s riding.
However, Tima Kurdi later said she had only submitted an application to bring her brother Mohammed and his family to Canada. Alan, the boy who drowned, was the son of her other brother, Abdullah Kurdi.