The Société franco-manitobaine is a reception service agency for newcomers. In three years our staff has gone from one to six. The needs are enormous. We welcome approximately 400 francophone immigrants per year. Our goal is to be able to accommodate 700 and to continue to increase that number. All organizations need to be involved in order to make this project a success. It's becoming more and more difficult as the needs increase. Many refugees have very specific needs related to trauma and very significant social problems. We have to find a way to serve them. We have to see how we can meet these needs in the short and long term. We still don't have the means to do so. Our funding mainly comes from the province of Manitoba and from a CIC contribution for specific projects.
On May 1st, 2008. See this statement in context.