Status of Women committee  I think so. With our clients as well, that information needs to be passed onto them, so that they know how the costs of obtaining foreign credential recognition can be covered. That one of the barriers, but it's also a very lengthy process.

Status of Women committee  I can only speak a bit to that. I would say that one of the biggest barriers is the cost. Having your credentials recognized is a quite expensive and lengthy process. If you're living on a very fixed income, you don't have the resources for that. Now, within some employment programs and immigrant services they can help with the costs of foreign credentials recognition, but it doesn't cover it all.

Status of Women committee  Through the Province of British Columbia and its employment programs, we receive a bit of funding to help new immigrants getting those foreign credentials.

Status of Women committee  Within our agency, not that I have seen.

Status of Women committee  Yes.

Status of Women committee  Yes. Look, for example, at a snapshot of a family that's come here as refugees and begins by living on government-assisted benefits that are very limited and equivalent to income assistance rates in the province. That brings us to the point of affordable housing and lack of it, and then after that year they have to try to find employment, or apply for income assistance, because the benefits are no longer there.

Status of Women committee  There's that as well; they're temporary jobs; they're not safe. They could be farm labour jobs. We've seen stories of this happening in British Columbia, with women who have come from India working on farms in very dangerous conditions because it's the only employment they can find.

Status of Women committee  Many spirals happen, and I'll give you another example. We have some women who have come here as government-assisted refugees, incredibly intelligent women with masters' degrees in mechanical engineering, Ph.D.s in arabic literature, etc., but they're not going to be able to move into positions like that in Canada, without recognition of their foreign credentials first—which is a whole other thing we could open up here, as well as the language skills.

Status of Women committee  Yes.

Status of Women committee  We have more than that now.

Status of Women committee  It's a total mix. We are seeing many who are still trying to work on their language skills. As I said, without fluency in English, it's very hard for them to obtain employment, so many of them are still using food banks. Many of them are on income assistance. There is a need for employment training and things like that.

Status of Women committee  It's very isolating when you can't speak the language of the country where you're living. When things delay your ability to access English classes—child care, taking care of your elderly parents, a cultural background where the woman stays home to care for the children, or whatever it may be—it's very hard for a woman to find stable employment.

Status of Women committee  We're seeing something very similar in the Nanaimo and the central Vancouver Island region, where newcomer women are trying to find a means of making money while taking care of their and other children at home. Again, there is the concern about safety and making sure that—

Status of Women committee  Thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society. I greatly appreciate it. Just as a quick snapshot, the multicultural society serves about 1,100 newcomers a year. As many immigrant services across Canada have experienced this year, we've had a massive influx of government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees.