Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think the diversity of the different languages that we're seeing is particularly from the Sudan. There are 13 tribes in Sudan. They're nomadic tribes that speak very unusual languages. For the level of English to Dinka that we need, there is only one translator available, who works for the immigration settlement services.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Sure. I think many of the refugee families are composed of six to eight children, and particularly, we're focusing on those most in need. We're taking families that need to seek specialist treatment in tropical diseases, HIV. So you're paying for three zones, where the actual funding for resettlement was only designed for one zone.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I don't actually know off the top, but I do know that there are a lot of French-speaking refugees from the Congo and the former Belgian Congo. We often find that we rely on French as the person's preferred language because we don't have access to Swahili interpreters, so people coming from Tanzania and Kenya are actually speaking that.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We've an inter-agency approach from parks and recreation in the city of Burnaby. We run a newcomers group once a week for two hours in which Fraser public health provides the translators. We run it in seven languages, as we're trying to also develop a sense of community cohesiveness.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think the thing is that Burnaby offers low rental accommodation. It also has landlords who are less vigilant in enforcing restrictions on the numbers of clients in a house. For example, two-bedroom accommodation, from economic necessity, is often housing eight people. I also think they know there's a community evolving in Burnaby, and people go where someone else can speak their language and knows their country.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  With the introduction of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in June 2002, significant changes were introduced to Canada's refugee resettlement program. Since the introduction of the act there has been a particular focus on refugees in urgent need of protection and resettlement in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Sorry. I'm trying to get in as much information in five minutes as I can. The Bridge Clinic is a community health clinic that was established in September 1994 as a partnership between British Columbia Multicultural Health Services and the Immigration Settlement Services Society in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I am Karen Roth, a public health nurse in the Fraser Health Authority.