Thank you for the question.
Like our colleagues at Calgary Catholic School District, we made a formal request to both the provincial government and the federal government for additional support for our Syrian refugee students. We have heard back directly from the provincial government, and the letter we received stated that no further funding would be allocated either to us or to any other school board within the province, because the Syrian refugee students arrived beyond the cut-off date of September 30.
We have not received anything formally in writing from the federal government, either granting our request or denying the request. We were not consulted by the federal government and asked if we were able to take additional Syrian refugee students into our school board. As a public school district in Calgary, we welcome each and every student who comes through our doors, regardless of situation, circumstance, country of origin, or language.