It's national defence.
Thanks very much. I am pleased to be at this committee today for several reasons. One, of course, is that as a gay man, I am someone who came to Canada when I would not have been recognized as a refugee, but I was a refugee. The second reason is that last Thursday, I was with the Gorge Tillicum refugee sponsorship group in my riding, which is a group of 30 citizens who are sponsoring the reunification of a Somali family of eight by raising $90,000 in my community to do that. So there is an interest in my constituency among the public. We have now, I think, 171 sponsorship groups operating in and around my riding. While a lot of times in the media we hear the concerns about migration and refugees, what I see on the ground in my riding is a very Canadian spirit to help.
I appreciate the work of the UNHCR. Previous to being a member of Parliament, I did international work in conflict zones, and I've often worked with UNHCR staff, who risk their lives as well.
It's a great description of the challenge that's facing the entire world with refugees. I think we—certainly, my party—appreciate the concern about the limited resettlement opportunities. I was pleased to hear you talking about resettlement on the basis of urgent need or urgent threat to safety.
I am going to talk about the LGBT community in particular. My colleague from Vancouver East, when she was with the committee in Uganda, heard some disturbing statements from people about LGBTI refugees: they simply need not flaunt their sexuality and they won't be in danger and that it's unfair for LGBTQ or LGBTI refugees to jump the queue.
In terms of evaluating vulnerability of the refugee populations, how do you do that when it comes to the LGBTI community?