First of all, I thank the standing committee on citizenship and immigration for the opportunity to provide our comments on the federal government's initiative to resettle Syrian refugees.
I will start by providing you with some information about the Afghan Women's Organization, and the significant role it has played in the settlement and resettlement of refugees, including Syrian refugees. I will then provide you with our comments on the government's initiatives.
The Afghan Women's Organization was established in 1990, in response to the particular needs of refugees and women, particularly Afghan women and their families. We began by offering English training and settlement services, and then soon expanded to include family members, men and boys. The AWO has significantly expanded its services and broadened the scope of its projects and programs. Currently, the AWO assists thousands of refugees and immigrants from a variety of ethnic backgrounds who have experienced war and violence back in their country of origin. That includes also Syrians. The AWO is also a sponsorship agreement holder, SAH, organization.
Over the past years, AWO has sponsored and successfully settled more than 3,000 refugees from various parts of the world. Our partners, particularly IDRF, greatly supported us in our efforts.
We support and applaud the Government of Canada for keeping its promise to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees from Syria to Canada. We are grateful that the government has restored the IFH, interim federal health, program for PSRs.
One of the many notable achievements of this government initiative was the ability to substantially increase public awareness of the plight of refugees and raise the profile of refugees in Canada. However, we are deeply concerned about the many other refugees around the world who appear to have been forgotten.
Unequal treatment of refugees can cause backlash against Syrian refugees. The Pretoria, Nairobi, Cairo, and Islamabad visa posts have been capped for the past few years, since 2012, and Islamabad had zero allocation in 2014. We understand that over 6,000 people in Africa, and many Afghans, including persecuted women, have been waiting for five to six years to hear an answer from Canada. There are 4,000 vulnerable Christians in Thailand who have four-year waiting times.
We urge the Government of Canada to treat the processing of all refugees equally.
There are thousands of Canadians who have already raised millions of dollars to resettle refugees. These Canadians are ready, willing, and able to sponsor hundreds of additional Syrian and non-Syrian families.
We call upon the Government of Canada to allocate additional resources in various visa posts to make sure that refugees can arrive in Canada quickly.
We strongly feel that family reunification should be given priority.
In terms of settlement services, while we first need to make sure that the help to other refugee populations is not diverted to the Syrian response, we are concerned about the many challenges that Syrian refugees face. While we welcome the government's plan to double—it's more than double, likely—its target to bring in refugees, we are concerned that the settlement budget has been cut by almost $2.5 million in Ontario. Six years of federal funding cuts to settlement services have already had a big impact on the settlement of refugees and on the settlement sector. Delay in providing proper settlement services for the Syrian refugees will cause numerous problems, including delay in participation in Canadian society and the Canadian economy.
We request that, while increasing numbers of refugees are being sent to Ontario, the budget be increased to accommodate the number, and sufficient and sustainable multi-year funds be allocated for up to five years for the settlement organizations in Ontario.
Also, many Syrian families have come with a high number of issues. One key concern at our organization, where we are focusing on women and their families, is gender in relation to immigration. You will agree that women's issues are distinct from those of men. There is a need to address the psychological and social needs of the women who are survivors of violence and trauma.
These women are socially isolated. Many have a large number of children, and most of them have limited or no formal education. These women need special programs. For example, it would be very important to have women-only LINC classes. However, due to a lack of child-minding spaces, many women end up waiting for months before they are admitted to the program. Moreover, the program will be closed during the summer, although we hear there might be some funding available.
There is a need for women-centred programs and support groups for those women who are suffering from PTSD.
As a sponsoring organization, the AWO is the first point of contact for many refugees who arrive under PSR and BVOR. The combination of our experience as a SAH and as a settlement service provider makes us extremely well positioned to identify the needs and assist Syrian and other refugees who are entering Canada via both private and government sponsorships.
Thank you.