We were originally part of a national pilot program, and we were funded through ESDC. There were nine pilot sites across Canada. Now, aside from Alberta, there are only two agencies left that have been able to continue operating. Once the pilot program ended, we were assured that they were looking at the national evaluation of the project, and to continue serving newcomers as long as we could. They even went so far as to allow organizations to utilize loan-loss reserve funds to cover operational dollars so that they could continue operating and keep the doors open.
We have been in a holding pattern since prior to the election. No project officer can give us an answer. No one across Canada at the pilot site seems to know any greater level of detail.
We are asking that we hear news of what is happening, and whether the program is going to continue or if it's going to come out as a new program. But we are recommending and asking that the program be reinvested in to allow both operational funding as well as the loan-loss reserve or loan dollars to be available for skilled newcomers.