Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you to all our witnesses for your powerful testimony today, for your advice, and for your appeal for extraordinary action to rescue the survivors of the continuing genocide. I would like to just refer back to a suggestion made by a government colleague yesterday that because of the Yazidis' ancient language and culture, they may, as refugees, face particular difficulties in integrating in Canadian society.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  But in terms of refugees from Iraq and Syria...?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Can you offer a ballpark set of figures in terms of the archdiocese's work over the past five years, for example, with the Iraqi and more recently Syrian refugees?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I wonder if I could bounce off you a complaint that I've received through the Armenian community, who said that in three cases they've documented, applicants for refugee status at the Beirut mission were refused on the grounds that the applicants didn't meet the criteria of a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race [or] religion”.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think Ms. Rempel has a question first.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you. Thank you, Senator Martin, Mr. Mark, and Professor Macklin, for your testimony here today. I'm sure that every member of the committee wishes you well, Mr. Mark, on your mission next week, and looks forward to the answers and the information you bring back. The government has made it very clear recently, and again today, that it does not track resettled refugees by either religious or ethnic composition.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'd just like to continue along the path of considering the vulnerable, the persecuted, the minorities who have managed to escape Syria and Iraq but have failed to enter the UNHCR camps for designation because they fear discrimination or worse—perhaps renewed persecution in those camps—and are living in the local economies, for example, in Jordan or in Lebanon.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We've seen with the current government's accelerated refugee program the initial 10,00 of the 25,000 or so already in the process of private sponsorship. We know that with private sponsors across the board, many of them with specific focus on ethnic or religious groups and with family ties, there's a backlog and millions of dollars in escrow payments waiting to accept these refugee claimants to Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'd just like to continue to try understand why the current government is not prioritizing the acceptance and processing of persecuted minorities, including the Yazidis and others. Mr. Orr, I come back to your point that to be eligible for resettlement in Canada, refugees must be outside their country of origin.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Chair, very briefly, and as a guest member of the committee, with respect, I appreciate the amendment. Going forward under the amendment, we should keep in mind the appeal by the UN report today which says that a genocide has not only happened with respect to the Yazidi people, but it is continuing.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you for that endorsement. Mr. Syed, you spoke to the housing issue, particularly in Scarborough, and the shortage of affordable housing. We've heard stories in recent months of some unethical landlords taking advantage of newcomers. I'm wondering whether you have any examples of attempted exploitation or unethical handling of newly arrived tenants.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  —which is against the law in Ontario.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you. Mr. Mandarino, you spoke about work site safety. I'm wondering whether English training in the jargon of work sites as it relates to workplace safety is provided by employers or by your union.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Have I time for one more question, Chair?