Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to start with Refugee 613, and I want to bring it back to the update on the resettlement of Yazidi people and girls.
When I came to Canada, I didn't speak French or English and I started school five months later. It was quick. You had to pick it up really quickly just to get started. The previous witnesses who came here mentioned a lady, Gule, whom I met in Calgary. She explained to me the difficulties she had in getting the right services, but her problems, and I think for all the Yazidi population, are a bit broader. You mentioned communication.
When the government decided to bring in tens of thousands of refugees from the region, and then specifically Yazidis, in my view they should have forecast that they would need interpreters who were comfortable in Kermanji, but also Sorani, Zaza, Gorani, or the languages of the region. They should have understood that there are different dialects of the Kurdish language that are spoken differently depending on where you are from. Then they should have communicated that.
You mentioned communication and how important that is for volunteer organizations on the ground. Government can't do everything, and in my experience—and I've been to Calgary; I've been to Operation Ezra in Winnipeg, and I've been to Toronto—there was very little communication even with the different Kurdish community associations in the different cities.
What communications do you have with those community groups to find...? Maybe they're not qualified interpreters, but they could maybe bridge that gap for the first few weeks. They can maybe help you understand where the refugees are from, what they need, and what types of services they're looking for. Do you communicate with Kurdish associations and Kurdish groups on the ground on an ad hoc basis, or do you have some type of fixed operation?