Canada brought in 60,000 refugees from Indochina despite fears of bringing in Communists By The Early Edition, CBC News Posted: Sep 09, 2015 11:14 AM PT Last Updated: Sep 09, 2015 11:14 AM PT A Syrian refugee, left, carries two children after arriving on a dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos, September 7, 2015. Greece is struggling to cope with the hundreds of migrants and refugees from the war in Syria making the short crossing every day from Turkey to Greece's eastern islands, including Kos, Lesbos, Samos and Agathonisi. A Syrian refugee, left, carries two children after arriving on a dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos, September 7, 2015. Greece is struggling to cope with the hundreds of migrants and refugees from the war in Syria making the short crossing every day from Turkey to Greece's eastern islands, including Kos, Lesbos, Samos and Agathonisi. (Dimitris Michalakis/Reuters) Close [audiothumb.gif] Former immigration minister weighs in on Canada's role in the Syrian refugee crisis 10:03 Related Stories * Syrian refugee crisis: Christy Clark pledges $1M to help refugees * Refugee reality check: the truth about sponsoring * Glenn Davidson, former ambassador to Syria, calls on Canada to accept more refugees * Canadians want more to be done to help refugees, polls suggest -- Security concerns are not a good enough reason to prevent the Canadian government from bringing thousands of Syrian refugees into the country, argues former immigration minister Ron Atkey. Atkey, who served under Prime Minister Joe Clark in 1979 and 1980, says the Progressive Conservative government then managed to help 60,000 refugees from Indochina come to Canada after the end of the Vietnam War. -- However, there was an effective screening process in place, and Atkey argues a similar process can be implemented by current Canadian officials to assess security risks among Syrian refugees. "If you look at 1979, 1980, this was Vietnam — this was a Communist government that had taken over and defeated the Americans," Atkey told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff. "There were a lot of Communist sympathizers that were rumoured to be -- The plight of millions of Syrian refugees has once again been highlighted after images of a drowned Syrian child with British Columbia ties sparked international outcry. Canada has committed to bringing in 10,000 Syrian refugees. So far, only about 2,300 have been resettled in Canada, with most of them arriving through private sponsorships from Canadian citizens. Conservative party leader Stephen Harper has said the government will -- Though Atkey acknowledges the security risks, he says they must be weighed against "the humanitarian benefits of doing something quite dramatic" to aid refugees in need. In 1979, government had a plan to directly assist Indochinese refugees living in camps abroad, and to do so in a way that didn't require a ton of bureaucratic red tape, said Atkey. He argues a similar plan can be put in place now to assist Syrian -- * King tide reaches Delta's Boundary Bay waterfront * Bright Nights in Stanley Park hit by thieves a second time * Condo sales with no cash down payment proposed by B.C. developer * Kelly Singh Mahal pleads guilty in U.S. after trying to meet 12-year-old girl for sex * BCIT nap room aims to help students focus on their studies * Tragic death leads to call for mandatory drug reaction reports * Abbotsford Police create dark domestic violence video aimed at students -- * Hanging lights at Bright Nights Vancouver Bright Nights in Stanley Park hit by thieves a second time * --RIP Nola - In Honour of Nola - New Endangered rhinos subject of Tusk and Horn art exhibit * Drug Shortages 20150210 B.C. health minister pushing for age-based federal funding * fox creek Updated Fox Creek fracking operation closed indefinitely after earthquake * Beach Grove Road King Tide -- Ottawa man wanted on Canada-wide warrant after breaching parole * Revealution Abbotsford Police create dark domestic violence video aimed at students * WEA Ontario 20110815 Corus Entertainment is buying Shaw Media in $2.65B deal * Elisabeth Burgess Community Court judge agrees service integration key to success * BCIT nap room -- CBC gem logo Radio-Canada ©2016 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved Visitez Radio-Canada.ca