Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses and presenters.
I have three or four areas I'd like to explore.
On the question around financial security, there's no question there's going to be a crunch in the 13th month when the sponsorship ends. In the meantime, even as it stands now, many of the refugees I've met raise the issue of the lack of financial support. On income assistance, it's hard for people to make ends meet. Many people run out of money before the month is over, and they're relying on food banks.
Ms. Bukhari, could I have you give us some quick comments on your experience with the people you have encountered with respect to that aspect of it.
I'm going to ask all these questions so people can start thinking about them.
Refugees are affected by the transportation loan they have to repay. Do you have any experiences that you can share with us in terms of the pressures that are put on them related to that? On the question around language training, there's a huge wait-list for people trying to get into language training. As indicated, they seem to be at a lower literacy level than anticipated. How long is the wait-list, and what are the issues related to the child care provisions, so that the women get access to the language training program as well and they're not faced with isolation.
In the presentation from ACCT, there's a note around domestic violence, and that reports have been coming back with respect to women clients disclosing incidents of domestic violence within two to three weeks of arrival. That is hugely concerning. What action is being taken and what action needs to be taken to ensure the supports are there for the women in this difficult time?
I'm going to open the floor for Ms. Bukhari and then Mr. Chan.