Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, we know where the communities are, because many of the communities have done what the community in Saskatoon has done. A few people came in early eighties—and maybe, in one or two cases, in the late seventies—and they've sponsored and sponsored and sponsored people to build

Citizenship and Immigration committee  You're asking about the Afghan refugees?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It has always been my life philosophy that not only do you catch the babies at the bottom of the river but you try to prevent them from entering the river upstream. So I think we need to do it all. We're saying that if you get us some people in Saskatoon, we'll look after them.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  This is a community right across Canada that will look after their own as long as we can get them here.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The block is in Damascus, and if the numbers are going to be increased, the resources need to be increased in Damascus.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The 100,000 is the number of resettlement places among some 23 countries that have agreed with the United Nations to be resettlement countries, and we're one of those resettlement countries. It doesn't include the number of people who come seeking refugee status within our border

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, and it's a very, very difficult situation. There's no question about that. I think our position is still that we need to do all of it. We need to be as generous as we can be in terms of aid to Syria and Jordan. We need to bring more refugees and save at least a few lives, an

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I don't think it's an either/or; I think we have to work at all levels. So other departments of government, I trust, are trying to find and support peaceful solutions to what's happening in Iraq. The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration can respond by establishing new spots f

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Since 2004, the Canadian embassy in Turkey has not been processing sponsorship agreement holder sponsorships.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I've worked with many refugees and refugee communities over 25 years, so I understand how desperate it is for people from many, many countries. Right now, we're being told that Iraq is the most dangerous country in the world, that we have the largest movement of refugees since t

Citizenship and Immigration committee  There are several aspects to the problem. The first problem is the so-called targeted number that the Canadian government establishes every year. For 2008, the Canadian government is talking about 1,800 to 2,000 resettlement places for Iraqis out of the Middle East. That's the ta

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Canada has made a commitment to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and it's the United Nations that's the point organization in Syria and Jordan in terms of not only registering and monitoring the movements of the refugees, but also attempting to build some extra ed

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Money is going to the United Nations. It always puzzles me a bit when I read the financial statements on the Internet of the United Nations, because they put out appeals. They don't seem to be exorbitant, but countries, including Canada, don't step up to the plate with the amount

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Good morning, and I thank you as well for allowing us to be here. I want to give you a little picture of what life is like for us in Saskatoon. I work very closely with the Iraqi Christian community. We are between 800 and 1,000 people now, and almost all of those folks have com