Finance committee  I'd be able to speak from the perspective of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and I'd say they're seeing the same, listening to the voices of young people: that despair and not being able to see what the future looks like. Right now, there are so many young people, like many of us, who are just trying to figure out what life looks like beyond this pandemic.

Finance committee  From the perspective of Big Brothers Big Sisters, we'd suggest continuing to invest in community support services, as we shared throughout the presentation, the supports for our community services organizations and programs such as the youth employment skills strategy, and expanding some of the funding there.

Finance committee  That's a great question. I appreciate it. I'd say the most pressing issue would be the element of the shared proposal that we've sent in to government around transformation of the respective federations as well as the not-for-profit sector. This pandemic has certainly highlighted a number of challenges that we have within organizational structures: how we approach service delivery; how we collaborate and work together, recognizing the various values that we, as our collective organizations, have in community; and how we ensure that those dollars continue to go right to the front lines to be able to support the community.

Finance committee  Thank you for the opportunity to be here. To echo my colleague, I would like to express significant thanks to all members for all you do daily on behalf of Canadians, during this pandemic as well as beyond. Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated in Canada for over 100 years. We facilitate intentional mentoring relationships with over 41,000 youth in 1,100 communities with the support of over 21,000 volunteers.

Human Resources committee  We see a significant demand. Many of our organizations across Canada have various programs in order to be able to match newly arrived Canadians with young Canadians who are newly integrating into community and to get those supports. We have conversation clubs as well, where young people can start to understand and integrate, or understand what the school system is like within Canada.

Human Resources committee  Yes. That is a challenge that I think many are facing, particularly in urban communities, supporting young people and participating in prosocial behaviours during this time.

Human Resources committee  I'm not able to speak to policies on before and after care. Big Brothers Big Sisters operates outside of before and after care. Any supports we would have in order to be able to keep youth connected to adult mentors, whether before or after the school setting, would be appreciated.

Human Resources committee  I like that idea, and yes, we're certainly open to it.

Human Resources committee  Yes, we would support that. We stand behind many of the solutions that Imagine Canada has put forward.

Human Resources committee  Our agencies are very much aware and are doing wellness checks as well, which is well beyond our mandate. We are checking in on families to ensure that they have the appropriate supports there and are connected to the other community services to get support where they need it.

Human Resources committee  Yes, we were. Many of our member agencies, as well, have been able to navigate it. There was some confusion around the eligibility criteria initially, but we were able to get that clarified.

Human Resources committee  Yes. I would like to mention that coming in to this meeting to talk about the dire situation that Big Brothers Big Sisters is facing considers all of the government programs that are currently in place. As I noted in my opening remarks, we are very grateful for the efforts of the federal government during this time, but we do require additional support.

Human Resources committee  Yes.

Human Resources committee  Absolutely.

Human Resources committee  Yes. The national organization has not applied and wouldn't be eligible within that funding the way it's been structured. Big Brothers Big Sisters worked closely with United Way Canada to look at a cohesive response to the application process for our Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies, because each of the United Way locals would be the ones to oversee the administration and the disbursement of those funds.