Mr. Chair, in our first two years we've raised well in excess of $100,000 mainly through our flagship event, Strut, where we invite participants to walk a mile in shoes they normally wouldn't wear. After all, a mile in someone else's shoes is better than a lifetime in the closet. To date we have granted nearly $50,000 to partner charities. This includes Rainbow Railroad of Toronto, who work directly with LGBT people who need to get out of danger; Mosaic in Vancouver, who provide peer and mental health support to LGBT refugees once they are in Canada; Egale in Toronto for targeted LGBT youth newcomer support services; and the Inland Refugee Society of Vancouver, who offer emergency housing for LGBT refugees and newcomers.
One of the most heartbreaking stories came from earlier this year when we received an application for funding from the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees. They were seeking financial support to create a network of activists for Iranian LGBT asylum seekers in Turkey who faced specific discrimination not only for being LGBT, but also because of language and cultural issues. Despite this legitimate charity receiving Government of Canada funding for their projects, the Foundation of Hope had to reject their application because IRQR was not a registered Canadian charity. Our friends with Rainbow Refugee, who you'll hear from later, have informed us that they are also in a similar situation where they cannot request funds from us for their important work because they have yet to receive charitable status. This limitation for tax purposes has needlessly hindered the foundation's work. One of our recommendations would be for the government to provide specialized charities, such as the Foundation of Hope, with the ability to give to legitimate charities that either do not have, or are in the process of acquiring, their registered status.