Mr. Chair, the hon. member's question with respect to Yazidis is an important one.
Our government has proven itself to be a world leader in welcoming refugees fleeing war and persecution.
We have now provided a new home to over 1,300 women and their families who endured the brutality of Daesh, 85% of whom are Yazidis. We are not stopping there. We will continue to expedite the privately sponsored applications of survivors of Daesh and support family reunification.
These women and girls have endured and survived unimaginable trauma and face long journeys toward healing and rebuilding their lives right here in Canada. Make no mistake; we will support them every step of the way. We have mobilized settlement organizations and community partners to provide extensive specialized services tailored to their specific needs. These supports include counselling and mental health services provided through the very refugee health care program the Conservatives cut when they were in power.
We made sure that we paced the arrivals of the survivors of Daesh, learning from the German example and advice, to make sure that each group of about 50 survivors would have supports in place before their arrival so they could be assisted in their long journey of restarting their lives in Canada. Second, we have ensured that there are enough translators and community representatives to assist them in their integration. We have ensured that survivors of Daesh atrocities are spread across many communities in Canada, which have more than welcomed them with open arms.
Our government's commitment to supporting vulnerable women and girls is unwavering, and we are continuing down the road with further funding of $20 million, announced in budget 2018, to expand our refugee program to target vulnerable women and girls. In addition to that, we are proud of the fact that our global leadership in resettling women and girls and other survivors of Daesh led to Canada being recognized by the United Nations for this great work. In addition, we will, of course, continue to expedite privately sponsored applications for survivors of Daesh atrocities and facilitate family reunification.
There are no caps on group of five sponsorships. That is why Canadians can continue to exercise their generosity in welcoming these highly vulnerable individuals into our communities so that we can assist them to re-establish their lives in Canada, recover from the unimaginable trauma they have been exposed to, and contribute to Canadian society in the short and long term. In fact, to achieve those outcomes, we have more than quadrupled the number of privately sponsored refugees. This is because we value and support Canadians' generosity and are committed to upholding Canada's humanitarian tradition. We would not have been able to meet these targets had it not been for the overwhelming outpouring of generosity by Canadians.
In keeping with our humanitarian tradition, keeping family members together is very important for our government, and when separation occurs, due to whatever reason, every effort is made by our government to facilitate family reunification as soon as possible. For example, when a family member is released from captivity when the rest of the family has already settled in Canada, we facilitate that reunification. We will continue to facilitate, specifically in this case, family reunification for those whose family members are still in Daesh captivity.
In addition to that, we have ensured that we keep working and engaging with the Kurdish Regional Government, as well as the UNHCR and neighbouring countries that have populations of survivors of Daesh atrocities, including Yazidi women and girls, to highlight their plight, to make sure we prioritize their cases, to refer them from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and also to refer them to private sponsors right here in Canada.
The interim federal health program, which we restored as a government, and which we will continue to fund, is exactly the program that is providing mental health and other health care supports to this highly vulnerable group of people, as well as other refugees.
I am most proud, as are all members in the House, of the response Canada had in responding to create a new home for the 1,300 women and their families who endured the brutality of Daesh atrocities, 85% of whom are Yazidis. We learned from the German example, which advised us to make sure we paced the arrivals. We made sure that we expedited family reunification privately sponsored applications, and we made sure that we had the necessary wraparound supports once these individuals got here.
From the lessons we have learned through this experience, we have made sure to provide further funding in our immigration levels planning. As part of budget 2018, the government announced an additional $20 million so we can respond quickly again to make sure that we provide a home for other vulnerable women and girls.