Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today, Mr. Chairman, and honourable members. Like the previous speaker, I am here not as an expert on the Yazidi community. As far as I know, in Ottawa, we have received very few, if any Yazidi community members. I'm here as someone representing the thousands of community members across Canada, particularly here in Ottawa, who have mobilized to welcome refugees particularly since the Syrian resettlement project.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  No, I think she covered it.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'll just add to that. We've learned a lot in the last two years about the importance of good communication channels and of good information. It's really important for a government to get out in front of an issue, to explain to people who the population is and why it's important to continue to welcome them.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Here in Ottawa we don't have relationships with Kurdish organizations as such. We have relationships with individuals because Refugee 613 isn't providing direct service. For the Syrian community we had all kinds of volunteer interpreters come to us who said they spoke Arabic and they wanted to help.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  In the Syrian case?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Just to clarify, we haven't been involved in any Yazidi resettlement. With the Syrians and with other groups we know that language group is coming. We always want more information. Our settlement partners get a lot of information and they always want more. Is it a recommendation to have more information given to people on the ground about exactly who is coming and what their needs are?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The uptake of language training has been enormous. I've heard very few stories of refugees declining to take language training offered to them. Most are maxing out every opportunity. The problem in some cases has been availability.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes. Then there are people who just want to work. I've had people say to me, “I've been in a camp for four years. I've been twiddling my thumbs, and I want to move on with my life. I want to work.” They want to take a survival job, and that becomes a whole discussion about the long-term implications of that.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's right.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes. I would also just point out—and my colleagues who know more about language than I do may be able to pipe in—my understanding is that LINC classes are only available to you as long as you are not a citizen. Once you take up citizenship, that door is closed to you. That's been a persistent problem that predates the Syrian and Yazidi arrivals.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm looking at the others for more expertise. Yes, we always think there could be more services, and particularly in language, and particularly creative approaches, for example language acquisition in the workplace, working with employers to improve and increase those options, coming up with innovative models so that someone is....

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think they need more of what they get now, so more funding for settlement counselling, particularly employment counselling; reaching out to Canadian employers to help them understand the value that refugees can bring, the skill sets, and how to make the best use of them; and more understanding of cross-cultural practices.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Wow, I feel really on the hot seat there. I would say that the Syrian experience was about as fast as people could manage, and it was an unsustainable pace. It was one that everyone undertook with great enthusiasm, and no one would ever say they wish they hadn't done it, but the capacity to accept more refugees is only limited by our ability or our willingness to invest in welcoming them.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Absolutely, and I would put housing at the top of the list. In Ottawa we have a lot of problems with affordable housing, and refugees are among the most vulnerable to that. We're looking forward to seeing the details of that initiative and how it works out. But even when you have a house, you have job, and you can speak the language, if you don't have any friends, if you don't know your neighbours, it's very hard to feel like you belong.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think it depends on who you're talking to in Europe. The civil society folks who I'm talking to are extremely jealous. There is definitely a comprehension gap in how we activate civil society in Canada. They expect the government to do everything, and in Canada, we activate civil society.