Mr. Chairman, perhaps I'll just take two to three minutes initially to talk about, first, the current process, which of course takes up to two years to complete and certainly has an impact on the ability of individual refugee claimants and families to establish their long-term goals and plans, six months to receive a work permit, and certainly an increased reliance on Ontario Works.
Ontario Works is delivered by the Region of Niagara, and it creates a negative stereotype for immigrants, being seen as placing stress on the taxpayer.
In the region, we support Bill C-11. We see it's intended to provide a smoother, faster process. Certainly the initial screening by the Immigration and Refugee Board will be held in Toronto within eight days of arriving and the whole process is to be completed within six months. So we see that as positive steps forward in the process.
We appreciate the contribution that immigrants make to the Region of Niagara. We process through the Peace Bridge entry in the region 600 refugee claimants a month. About 13% of them stay in Niagara, and the rest move on to other municipalities.
We believe the proposed bill will certainly make it much better for refugee claimants, the legitimate refugee claimants, in terms of settling; and of course it will help the Region of Niagara because it will reduce, to some extent, our hostel bed capacity. Currently, 15% of our beds are taken up by refugee claimants. As well, it will go some way to removing the burden on our taxpayers through the Ontario Works social assistance requirements. But above all, I think it is helpful to the refugee claimants.
Those are my comments.