Citizenship and Immigration committee  We've definitely seen a lot of challenges. There are long wait-lists for English classes for women with young children. Particularly for those with babies, there are very limited spaces. Targeting classes for women who have children would be a plus. Increased funding for that wou

Citizenship and Immigration committee  You're right that as private sponsors, we see ourselves being obligated to support the family for way beyond one year. We have very much committed to a long-term relationship. I really want to emphasize that. We have been debating about raising extra money in order to afford ac

Citizenship and Immigration committee  All of the files have been sent to Amman, Jordan. There is a huge backlog, we've been told. While I'm sure these extra visa officers will help clear it up, at this point we have no indication exactly when these officers would go to northern Iraq. We're very concerned. We keep hea

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That's correct. In fact, the UNHCR has been interviewing people in some of the camps, but it's about resettlement elsewhere. They already have that responsibility for other countries.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  There are a couple of things I wanted to add. We are very frustrated. We are ready to support, but we are also trying to be innovative. We have approached people who would donate apartments in the interim as a way of addressing the housing issue. All our refugees who are privatel

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We definitely support some kind of intervention. I am sure this issue is particular to Toronto and the Lower Mainland. We have been lobbying the provincial government here, but not with a lot of success. Some initiative from the federal end would really help to allow for some d

Citizenship and Immigration committee  That is for those before November 4, 2015, and those after February 28, 2016. Thank you for your consideration.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you. Thank you for inviting me to speak today. I am a member of a private sponsorship group, the Or Shalom Syrian Refugee Initiative. Our sponsorship agreement holder is the United Church of Canada. We have raised $158,000, and the contributions have come from 185 donor ho