Citizenship and Immigration committee  In addition to having access to an orientation about their rights in Canada and the rights of their children and the fact that they have a right to lead a violence-free life, I think we also need to provide information in case they do have to leave that relationship down the line

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, particularly in York region, we have wonderful welcome centres, which are settlement services for new immigrants, and they utilize them extensively. One thing that's lacking in these particular centres is actual support systems or counselling services for women who have d

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely. Thank you for the question. It's certainly a challenge, because we've had to increase the qualification level for our staff, if you will. Not only are they qualified counsellors, but each staff member must speak another language besides English. As I mentioned, we'

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I oppose it. It's—

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely. Thank you. One of the services we offer at Yellow Brick House is to provide them with free legal clinics. We have lawyers in our community who are committing their time to speak to the women and talk to them about their rights. We also connect with legal service org

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely. Thank you very much. As you can imagine, my list goes on, but I will conclude with some recommendations. I think new immigrants in Canada need to get a proper orientation about Canadian laws and their rights. The services need to be provided in the languages these

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you very much. I also want to thank the committee for the opportunity to speak about the issues facing immigrant women. Yellow Brick House is located in York region. We provide emergency shelter and counselling services to abused women and children. Just to give you th