Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to start by thanking the Office of the Auditor General for its work on this report, and the IRCC for its tremendous undertaking in settling the Syrian refugees. I know it has been a tremendous task to settle 45,000 Syrian refugees over the past two years.
Having read the report from the Auditor General and having heard the testimony here today at committee, I can see that the early outcomes have been very good. Despite some challenges that we have identified today with the flow of funding and the management of language training and wait-lists, this is largely a success story.
It also remains a story that is unfolding. I have had the pleasure to welcome, as some of my other colleagues have, a number of Syrian refugee families, and even helped to pack some welcome kits for them upon their arrival. What struck me the most is that some of these families include many children. Having an educational background, and having spent nine years as a school board trustee in Toronto, I can tell you that educational outcomes are a crucial measurement of successful integration. We know that schools can play a very important role as the centres of community, not only for the children but for the families as well.
The data on how the children are doing should, in my mind, be readily available from the school boards, as well as through the coordination of ministries of education across the country. My question is, have we looked at that data in terms of the educational attainment of the Syrian refugee children? How does that information, or how can it, play a role in measuring the successful integration of the families? How do we plan to use that information to more effectively target resources and supports?
Given what we know about the importance of schools, particularly among immigrant families where there are large numbers of children, looking at their education is crucial to being able to measure the success of their integration.