Thank you very much.
Under the previous government, we definitely had unlimited spots to help Iraqi and Syrian refugees. Without any notice, suddenly we woke up in the new year having a very strict quota, which is devastating, especially for Canadian community members who live here but have relatives in a refugee-like situation.
We worked overnight on Christmas and New Year's Eve to make sure we met the deadline of December 31 to submit as many cases as we could. When suddenly on March 30 it again opened up for one day, we therefore had 700 cases ready for submission in the office. It means that now that we have the 1,000 spots, we have to balance between how many Africans, Iraqis, Afghans, or Somalis we assist. It's a serious cutback.
When I talk with community members, as on Wednesday, for example, when I will be working in Toronto, I am already scheduled to meet some people to calm them down. We will try to use different methods to bring people here, because the need has increased. The government and the whole system encouraged people to move forward, and suddenly cutting back is not good for the voluntary sector.