Thank you.
This committee heard a number of witnesses. Last year we did a study on best practices on settlement services for immigrants. We made a recommendation. The recommendations were mostly agreed to by the CIC. It talked about how smaller agencies should obtain more support from CIC, and that there are services like mental health services. Numbers aren't the only thing. There are also different types of needs, so it needs a holistic, comprehensive approach. We did that study.
During that time there was no inkling that there were going to be any cuts. There was no discussion of what would happen if the pot shrank. So this came as a big surprise.
Are you aware of any discussion between the federal CIC and provincial and municipal counterparts? I know a lot of these agencies are also supported by the provincial, municipal...and the United Way of Greater Toronto, for example. They seem to have been caught off guard completely.
Are you aware of any internal discussion, or was the first time anybody heard of it in that letter just before Christmas?