A handful of Palestinian refugees from Iraq will start arriving in Canada in the next few weeks, a spokesperson for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration said.

"Once they're here, they will be resettled in communities," said Marina Wilson. "Often, we have private sponsors. That would be church groups or other community groups that have agreed to take them in and help settle and sponsor them."

The refugees have been living in a rough camp near the Jordanian town of Ruweished since they fled Iraq during the recent fighting. Canada has agreed to accept 63 out of 150 people from the camp.

The website of the United Nations high commissioner for refugees said many Palestinians moved to Iraq after the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars.

Some of them fled to Jordan in 2003 as they feared the fighting and were worried that they would face discrimination after it ended.

Canada's decision to accept some of the refugees still leaves more than 80 people at the camp. Some of them have relatives who have been approved to come to Canada.

Wilson won't discuss individual cases, saying only there are guidelines that determine who Canada admits.

"They could possibly have been found medically inadmissible, they could possibly have a condition which we feel could pose an undue burden to our medical system here, or possibly if there's some suspicion that they might be a security threat."

For those remaining at Ruweished, they either have to look for another country to accept them, or hope that, some day, a relative chosen to come to Canada might be able to sponsor them.