I will tackle month 13, because that was actually one of my suggestions.
The rates are set by the province, not by the federal government, but I think everybody has some skin in the game in improving the ability of both those on social assistance and the refugees to have an allowance that allows them to live a reasonable lifestyle. I think this would be a good suggestion, as a start. Certainly considering the extension of GAR support for refugees beyond the year would be another suggestion that might merit consideration.
With regard to funding cuts, I can't speak for everyone across the country, but in Ontario we have had reduced funding. As an organization, over the last five years we have probably lost somewhere in the vicinity of $800,000 to $900,000 worth of funding.
We have five contracts with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, or IRCC, three of them for direct service and two for indirect. In our direct service, we have had either a status quo budget or a reduction. For example, this year in our settlement services in Toronto we lost $210,000. In the Toronto area, we have seen 437 Syrian refugees turn up at our door in the last number of months. We had a funding cut, but we are also seeing quite a number of Syrian refugees.
We didn't get a funding cut in our Peel region contracts, but we were status quo. We are seeing an influx. We are not just maintaining the services we provide to the entire newcomer community, but we are also seeing quite a number of new Syrian refugees.