Aylan Kurdi’s relatives go to Canada to rebuild

Relatives of Aylan Kurdi -- the toddler whose limp body was photographed on a Turkish beach, becoming a heartbreaking symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis -- arrived Monday in Canada where they hope to rebuild their lives.

Canadian media showed the boy's aunt Tima Kurdi, who now lives in Vancouver after emigrating to Canada in 1992, in tears as she welcomed her brother Mohammed, his wife Ghousun and their three children, at the airport.

Fatima Kurdi, from Canada, stands next to a painting of her late nephew, Aylan Kurdi, on a board outside of EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday, Sept. 14, 2015.

"Thank you to the Canadian people," Kurdi said.

"Thank you to our Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau for opening the door and showing the world how everyone should welcome refugees and save lives. Thank you very much for doing this."

The refugee policy became a political issue some months back, when the Canadian government earlier was accused of refusing asylum to some members of the family who since drowned. Ottawa said it never received the applications.

Abdullah Kurdi, 40, father of Syrian boys Aylan, 3, and Galip, 5, who were washed up drowned on a beach near Turkish resort of Bodrum on Wednesday, cries as he waits for the delivery of their bodies outside a morgue in Mugla, Turkey. (AP)

Trudeau's Liberal government has pledged to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February.

The prime minister earlier this month personally welcomed the first group to arrive at the Toronto airport aboard a military transport plane.

Syrian refugees are greeted by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on their arrival from Beirut at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. (Reuters)