For the settlement providers, part of their task has been coordinating their efforts, figuring out where the gaps are, etc. The provincial government has funded refugee response teams for a one-year period to focus on that. As a city, we have made an effort to bring along the rest of the community to be welcoming toward the newcomers. We developed resources and provided them to the general community on how they can get involved in helping. We produced a pamphlet for Syrian refugees settling here, translated into Arabic, that welcomes them to the city and gives them a sense of what's available.
There is actually something going to city council tonight called “Everyone in Surrey Belongs”. It's the Surrey Local Immigration Partnership's strategic plan going forward.
I think the point of our appearing before the committee today was really around our concerns about poverty. We know that Syrians who have arrived in Canada as government-assisted refugees are particularly very vulnerable. We know that most of them think the English language will take some time. They are starting with little to no English.
We also have housing issues in metro Vancouver already, with high housing costs. We're just concerned about people starting off a new life living in such deep poverty.