Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Human Rights
Issue No. 10 - Evidence - October 19, 2016
OTTAWA, Wednesday, October 19, 2016
The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights met this day at 11:03 a.m. to study steps being taken to facilitate the integration of newly-arrived Syrian refugees and to address the challenges they are facing, including by the various levels of government, private sponsors and non-governmental organizations.
Senator Jim Munson (Chair) in the chair.
The Chair: Good morning. Sorry I'm late. There are so many committees. Senators work so hard doing so many different things, especially my Conservative senator friends and independent senator friends and the few remaining Liberals who may be here.
I want to welcome the panel here this morning. We've had extensive conversations with witnesses in the last little while. We produced an interim report released in June with observations, which some viewed as recommendations. We want to elaborate on that. The feedback has been incredible on a whole group of levels, because it is a serious issue of settling into a new country.
Today we continue our study on the integration of newly-arrived Syrian refugees and to address the challenges they are facing, including by the various levels of government, private sponsors and non-governmental organizations.
Before I introduce the panellists, I'd like our senators to introduce themselves, starting with the deputy chair.
Senator Ataullahjan: Salma Attaullahjan, Ontario.
Senator Ngo: Thanh Hai Ngo, Ontario.
Senator Poirier: Rose-May Poirier, New Brunswick.
[Translation]
Senator Gagné: Raymonde Gagné, a senator from Manitoba.
[English]
Senator Andreychuk: Raynell Andreychuk, Saskatchewan.
Senator Omidvar: Ratna Omidvar, Ontario.
The Chair: I am Senator Munson from Ottawa, here in the nation's capital.
For our first panel this morning, we have the Ottawa Centre Refugee Action, Angela Keller-Herzog, Core Organizer; and Catherine Fleming, Outreach. I have intimate knowledge of your work living here. I have a conflict of interest. We are also sponsoring a family, along with other groups, who are doing quite well. The four boys in this family now know how to say, "He shoots, he scores,'' which is what I taught them first.
Here with us as well, from MOSAIC, Vancouver, Saleem Spindari, Manager, Refugee Settlement Support Projects, Family and Settlement Services; and from the Ottawa Centre Refugee Settlement Group, Andrew Harvey.
My father was a minister long ago at the United Church of Canada, and here I am. Also attending, Reverend Brian Cornelius, Chair of the Finance Committee, First United Church; and Dr. Asmat Khan, as an individual.
We will start with Angela Keller-Herzog. Thank you for being here.
Angela Keller-Herzog, Core Organizer, Ottawa Centre Refugee Action: Thank you for inviting us today.
OCRA, Ottawa Centre Refugee Action, is a grassroots group of volunteers who came together one year ago to help refugees settle in Ottawa. We began as a group of neighbours — like many other groups across the country — wanting to sponsor one family, but it snowballed as the desire to help in our community was formidable. We now have about 250 volunteers with structured tasks and roles within a larger group of about 500 OCRA support volunteers. We've raised about $240,000 in private community donations.
Our first sponsored family, a heroic mother and her two daughters, arrived from Lebanon just days before Christmas last year, with only two days' notice to us. They came down that escalator, which you probably travel down all the time when you arrive in Ottawa. They were wide-eyed. They did not know what to expect, and soon we were all hugging and crying. Although we had to scramble, the willingness of OCRA volunteers to quickly mobilize to find them a place to stay and help set them up in their new life was inspiring.
Since then, given the continuing enthusiasm of our network, we have undertaken to privately sponsor 37 refugees in 12 families through the Blended Visa Office-Referred Program. So counting adults and children, 33 people have now arrived and we're waiting for 4 more. Six families of the 12 families are Syrian, but OCRA is also sponsoring refugees from Iraq, Gambia, Colombia, and Central African Republic.
We have learned a lot over the past year. I am a volunteer. I play the role of co-organizer, and I am a co-founder and member of the OCRA steering committee. We are all volunteers.
Today I will focus on three issues regarding the integration of OCRA-sponsored refugees: family reunification, bureaucratic delays, and the need for sustained social support systems for some of these new arrivals to Canada.
The most urgent and pressing need that our OCRA arrivals are telling us about is the dire situation that their left- behind relatives are facing. Five of the six arrived Syrian families are asking for our help in this regard. Their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their nephews and their nieces are at risk. In some cases, they're sending funds out of their own tight budgets back to the Middle East to help with the most basic of needs — food and water. The emotional stress and worry, as well as the financial drain on the families here, can undermine successful settlement.
We feel that family reunification, by whatever mechanism or process, is for the good. We see this in two overlapping ways. Our new arrivals are more successful if they have family here in Canada, whether they're employed or not, and future refugee arrivals can integrate more successfully if they have family here already.
Older people should not be seen as a burden on the social system. They have hugely important roles in a strong social fabric. Indeed, many of the OCRA volunteers that are heavy lifters are seniors. We are stronger together, and united families are more resilient.
At present, it's extremely difficult for new arrivals, Syrian or not, to undertake to bring additional refugee family members to Canada. The funds required for full private sponsorship are intimidating, even for middle-class Canadians, even more so obviously for new arrivals. To meet demand from our group alone, OCRA would need to raise at least another $200,000. In addition to the money, processes are fraught, success uncertain, and delays years long.
We would urge the Government of Canada to examine policies to make refugee family reunification easier and to devise processes to make it more accessible. We have some suggestions and examples of what could be done and implemented fairly easily.
For example, Canada could make it easier for family members of new arrivals to get into the government-assisted refugee, or GAR, intake stream. For example, not difficult to design would be a Blended Visa Office-Referred Program for family reunification, where there is a blending or leveraging of private sponsorship financial support and Government-Assisted Refugee Program financial support.
For example, services could be provided by dedicated consular officers in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and perhaps other locations to help family reunification candidates to complete the complicated and intimidating forms that private sponsors have to struggle with at a distance. These take weeks of struggle to complete for us even with the help of lawyers and Arabic speakers.
We are sure that if given appropriate direction, IRCC would be able to find many different options for ways to enable refugee family reunification. And remember, if the new arrivals have family here, they will do better.
The second refugee integration issue that OCRA has observed is regarding bureaucratic challenges that the new arrivals are facing. In particular, we would like to pinpoint that there are undue delays in approving very ordinary dental services covered under the Interim Federal Health Program and implemented through Blue Cross. People are waiting for months for the insurer's response on the required pre-approvals for basic work like filling kids' cavities.
Another issue that we have become aware of is that there are undue delays and widespread processing confusions in the issuance of permanent residence cards. This is taking months with the need of repeated follow-ups on our part. For example, one family we're supporting has been here since February without their cards. Without these cards, it's often impossible for new permanent residents to get other forms of ID in Ontario, and this is disproportionately affecting women because the men sometimes have a driver's licence that they can use as a first piece of ID.
The third suggestion OCRA has regarding helping the integration of Syrians is to urge the federal government to recognize that a safety net of mental health and social support will be required by some members of this vulnerable population. For example, a common problem is that women are not able to access so-called free ESL classes because there are no child care spots for infants or preschoolers, so they're left behind.
We see that the stresses of integrating to life in Canada with our different gender roles can result in domestic stresses inside the household and inside the family, and we are concerned that if left unsupported this can find expression in violence against women. Without support, it will be difficult down the road for these women to then become effective parents when their children become teenagers, which, as some of us know, are rocky years sometimes.
Although we see many of the children adapting well into the Canadian school system and learning English rapidly, which is always marvellous, we are also aware that many of the schools are lacking enough ESL resources to help the new arrival kids integrate into their new learning and social environments.
In sum, we see a need for accessible and sustained social and mental health services for this population beyond month 12, when the private sponsorship or the government refugee assistance programs expire. Creating these footholds, stepping stones and safety nets for the individuals at risk is an important investment that Canada needs to make for the successful integration of the first generation rather than waiting for problems with the integration of the second and third generations.
The Chair: Thank you very much. We will follow along and keep this Ottawa-centric for a moment, and then we'll move to Vancouver and the good doctor. We'll move to the Ottawa Centre Refugee Settlement Group and Andrew Harvey.
Andrew Harvey, Ottawa Centre Refugee Settlement Group: Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members, for having us today, and thank you, OCRA, for extending the invitation.
I am a member of the Ottawa Centre Refugee Settlement Group, which came together last January and includes about a dozen professionals, students, parents, retirees and a refugee from Afghanistan who has just completed the settlement process herself.
Our story really begins about 10 years ago when I went to Syria to do graduate studies research. There, in Aleppo, I became good friends with many people, including one of the persons who we are currently trying to bring to Canada. We have remained friends ever since. In December of 2015, last year, when I learned that by the end of this year, 2016, my friend, his wife and his cousin's family of six would have to leave Saudi Arabia where they currently reside, I decided to try to help them come to Canada.
The Ottawa Centre Refugee Settlement Group was formed, and we connected with our co-sponsor, the Osgoode- Kars Pastoral Charge, to form a partnership to support this intricate process.
Since then we have raised over $60,000, submitted joint applications for the two families, met our 2016 intake deadline and cap limit. And after approximately five months, just recently, on October 1, we received application numbers for the two families. This Monday we also received notice that one of the two applications has been accepted and is being forwarded to Abu Dhabi.
The processing times for KSA applicants are estimated to be about 48 months, and we still have not heard what is happening to the second family's application.
Having said all that, today I wanted to bring to your attention our concerns about some processing delays and waiting times in general, how difficult it is to obtain accurate information about refugee sponsorship as a group of volunteers, and to make sure our families can stay together so that we do not require a family reunification process later on as described by OCRA.
First, the entire process takes too long. Our group began last January, completed the application by late April, and received notice from IRCC only in October.
One the major frustrations with the long wait time is we began the process when the government was encouraging Canadians to become involved in refugee settlement, but then the expediting of applications ended without any warning, just a few days before we submitted our application.
We do appreciate that processing times remain faster than they have been in the past, but there must be more that IRCC can do to speed up 48-month processing times, especially in light of the precarious situations of refugees. The two families we are sponsoring have KSA visas until the end of the year, and then they will have to leave, but to where they're not too sure. Their anxiety about this predicament is tremendous. I can tell you through our exchanges online, especially in the past couple months, that they are beginning to lose hope.
The second issue I wish to bring to your attention is that information regarding the application process for Syrian refugees currently living outside countries like Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, at least, have not been all that clear. We received a great deal of inconsistent information regarding requirements, waiting times, and this has slowed down our efforts considerably, especially leading up to submitting our application.
Information on refugee claims from KSA has been very difficult for us to obtain.
Third, at this point it is not clear if the joint applications for the two families are being processed together or separately. Indeed, we only currently know that one application has been approved and sent to Abu Dhabi. We do not fully understand how the application process works, but we are certain that bringing both families together will, as OCRA mentioned, be conducive to a strong social fabric and successful settlement. Joint applications for relatives would help reduce the need for reunification and all the complications that entails later on.
We don't have very specific recommendations at this point. I just came here to make this statement. The three points that we wanted to make, as I just described, are: keeping the joint applications together; devising a clearer, straightforward application process for groups of refugees in other countries; and perhaps having more case officers working on cases in those other countries.
Thank you all for listening.
The Chair: Thank you very much, Mr. Harvey.
We will move along to the Reverend Brian Cornelius of the United Church here in Ottawa.
Reverend Brian Cornelius, Chair of the Finance Committee, First United Church, United Church of Canada: Thank you, honourable senators, for the invitation. I am a local United Church minister but also serve as the Chair of the Finance Committee for the United Church of Canada as a volunteer.
The United Church has been involved in refugee sponsorship for over 50 years, my congregation in varying degrees over those years, but we have had our involvement exponentially increased in the last year as a congregational energy was unleashed and as we partnered with many community groups who were anxious in response to a mobilization by the Canadian citizenry in response to the Syrian crisis.
This experience is multiplied many times across Canada. My local congregation is associated with 30 families right here in Ottawa, and in the United Church across Canada there are more than a thousand case files representing thousands of individuals.
As I speak, though, I hold in my mind's eye and heart Ebrahim and Amina and their daughter Maria who was conceived in the Middle East and born in Canada. I think of Ameen; I think of Halima and her seven children. I think of Mohammad and Dima and their sons, who are just a few of the refugee families and friends that I personally know.
I also hold in my mind's eye and heart the sponsorship groups who are working effectively and very hard at the integration of refugee families that have arrived.
I also, as I sit here, think of Ali. I mention Ali because Ali is a refugee we wanted to sponsor long before the Syrian crisis received attention. However, due to extraordinarily long processes, over five years — we submitted the application in 2011 — we were finally forced to abandon this file for a myriad of reasons, which I won't go into. Not only was there sort of a violation of the rights of this person going through the process who was interviewed in 2012 and nothing ever followed through, but I name this because it specifically touches the task of this committee. I strongly believe that to encourage sponsorship groups greatly enhances the possibility of successful integration of refugees into Canada.
Loss of that energy due to slowed processes would be really unfortunate because the energy of engaged sponsorship groups provides a network and even a sense of family for new arrivals. Presently, along with the other group, we have significant numbers of community-sponsored family reunification applications in process, some which have been interviewed in February and March and still have not arrived. So we're beginning to feel some fatigue and frustration as process times seem to be lengthening again, and that takes away that energy. We have all of the money in the bank and we can't spend it.
Let me explain the benefits of how the sponsorship groups work. Our refugee sponsorship groups listen to the story of their newly arrived friends, listen to their dreams and hopes for a future, and then, in addition to the practical support of finding housing, guaranteeing and establishing utility and communication services and the myriad of other practical realities, work on creating a network to initially meet three goals or challenges, ultimately to realizing those deeper future dreams.
The first goal is to really concentrate on building English-language skills, and we commend all of the efforts on very good English-language training that has been happening. We recognize one of the challenges we have faced is that many have very good verbal skills but struggle with written skills, so really focusing in on that.
While their three hours of English-language training a day is significant, there is also a lot of other time in the day. So we've been developing programs. For example, one of our sponsorship groups initiated contact with the City of Ottawa Food Handler Certification program and with standard first aid and CPR courses as a way to begin to utilize language as well as enhance resumés.
One of our sponsorship groups provided lots of preparation for these courses by gathering books, games and manipulative materials in order to prepare for these courses. In fact, the preparation was longer than the course, but the learning was profoundly significant. Not only that, we learned what we might have assumed was already known, and so it broke down assumptions. This kind of stuff happens through sponsorship groups, not necessarily through programs.
With regard to English-language training, we would underscore the importance of daycare in order to support the gap, especially for mothers — not only mothers but significantly and mostly for mothers.
Our second goal has been to develop employable skills with a view to self-sustainability, as well as familiarity with Canadian practices. Once again, one of our private sponsorship groups partnered with a local business to provide work experience for some family members, and they did this by going to a local business, negotiated two months with an employer where we would pay part of the salary. The employer actually created a new position. It wasn't taking away a position. It was creating a new position.
At the end, our sponsorship group will meet with these business owners to determine next steps with the hope that a permanent position might be created, one that wasn't there before and, at minimum, work experience is now added to the resumé. This took lots of volunteer energy to make happen, and that's significant, so one would want to enhance this volunteer energy.
The third goal is the enjoyment of social connections with other people and to develop a sense of recovered normalcy after years of trauma, as well as inviting our new-found friends to contribute to the fabric of our own communities through purposefulness engagement. There are a number of ways we have been doing that.
First of all, supporting children and young adults integrating into school systems is clear. This may seem rather obvious, but it isn't. In our context we are aware of some government-sponsored Syrian families who had no one to show them how to navigate the system of immunization, English-language assessment, school registration, so their children were actually not enrolled in school for three and in one case up to six or seven months. This underlines the support of circles around families that are coming.
Our sponsorship groups also are sources of accurate information to help make informed choices. There's a lot of misinformation circulated. For example, a family we're working with was told that all they had to do to get free accommodation was show up at a shelter and that would happen. That was not accurate information, and we were able to help them significantly.
Finally, what I would name as one of the biggest challenges faced is one that was already mentioned — integration. One of the biggest challenges against integration is the stress knowing that family members are still currently living in danger zones.
When we welcomed one refugee at the airport, it was on the car ride from the airport that he first mentioned the plight of family members. Through the long process of applications, which we have become quite skilled at, we have found there are often redundancies, and unknown timelines cause considerable anguish and even depression. We recognize this disconnect from families, so we're working hard at providing social support and access to mental health resources.
It's critical that we address this stress around clarity of family reunification and what is possible. We have suggestions on exploring ways to simplify the process, in particular the requirements around notarizing documents and so forth, which often places refugees at considerable risk. We also would be supportive of developing a form of a BVOR family reunification program.
In closing, we're very supportive of the programs and policies and the work done that engage circles of support and networks around arriving refugees. I'm impressed with the efforts of our sponsorship groups. They work hard and provide tons of free labour and have given extraordinary amounts of money. In addition, I personally have been involved in ensuring financial frameworks that are transparent, ethically sound and protect the vulnerable, both the refugees as well as the goodwill of Canadians who are giving their money and their time. So we've worked very hard at having those structures in place.
Thank you very much for your time.
The Chair: Thank you for your time, Reverend Cornelius.
We will move right along to MOSAIC Vancouver and Saleem Spindari. Welcome to the committee.
Saleem Spindari, Manager, Refugee Settlement Support Projects, Family and Settlement Services, MOSAIC: Good morning, honourable chair and honourable senators. Thank you very much for the invitation. After making a brief submission, I would be more than happy to enter into a discussion and answer any questions that you might have.
I would like to start by introducing myself and providing some background information. As the honourable chair mentioned, my name is Saleem Spindari, and I am the Manager of Refugee Settlement Support Projects at MOSAIC. I came to Canada as a refugee myself. I fled Iraq during the 1990s and I've been in Canada since 1997, so I have first- hand experience with being a refugee.
MOSAIC, the organization I work for, is a non-profit organization serving immigrant, newcomer and refugee communities in the Greater Vancouver Area for the past 40 years. MOSAIC's vision is empowering newcomers to fully participate in Canadian society. In order to achieve this, MOSAIC delivers services and engages in community building and advocacy to facilitate meaningful participation of immigrants and refugees in Canadian society.
With a budget of more than $20 million, 300 staff, 400 volunteers and more than 300 contractors, MOSAIC delivers services from 32 locations. It's one of the leading organizations in B.C. We work with stakeholders locally, provincially and nationally. It is becoming one of the focal points for privately sponsored refugees in B.C.
For example, MOSAIC has been a member of the Canadian Council for Refugees at the national level for the past 20 years. Our programs include settlement, language, employment, interpretation and translation, counselling services and community outreach for families and individuals, including children, youth and seniors.
The refugee settlement support projects that I manage focus on leading a Metro Vancouver Refugee Response Team, which is a provincially funded program to bring together members from more than 40 organizations representing government, community, health, education and business sectors.
From the beginning of the Syrian refugee crisis, we created a refugee family reunification list to connect refugees with links to B.C. with private sponsors. The list currently has about 700 names on it, and we have found sponsors for 170 of them. Twenty-two of those who were connected through our list have already arrived and the rest are currently being processed.
We spend a lot of time recruiting and supporting private sponsors. We have been holding networking events to educate and support private sponsors. The other types of support that we provide to private sponsors are helping them complete sponsorship application forms, not only the pieces needed here but connecting with refugees via Skype and helping them complete applications. We do have staff who speak Arabic and Kurdish to be able to support the refugees.
We've been working on conflict resolutions with private sponsors and privately sponsored refugees, and we have been providing many other types of support for private sponsors.
One of the unique programs we have for refugees who have recently arrived is the employment program. We've been providing training to recently arrived refugees. One of the programs was able to recruit 45 Syrian refugees, and 25 of them found employment at the end of the training.
I must say that the commitment of the Canadian government has made many Canadians respond in unprecedented ways to the call of welcoming and supporting refugees, from members of faith-based groups such as churches, temples, mosques and synagogues who have submitted sponsorship applications and collected donations, to students from all education levels making care packages, going silent for a day to raise funds and organizing fundraising campaigns to support refugees. We've seen neighbours forming groups of five to privately sponsor refugees and community members offering their homes to provide temporary housing to recently arrived refugees. The list goes on and on with the generosity of all Canadians.
Along the way there were challenges. For example, family reunification hasn't been very smooth. The processing times for reuniting refugees with loved ones in refugee camps or overseas have been very long. The settlement and integration of refugees takes longer when their loved ones are still in troubled areas around refugee camps.
As a member organization of the CCR, MOSAIC supports CCR's family reunification campaign that calls for: the introduction of an express entry family reunification program; making the definition of "family member'' broad and inclusive by reinstating the previous age of dependents to include dependents who are under the age of 22, because with the recently arrived Syrian families, we've seen that some of them have been excluded; and elimination of the "excluded family member'' rule upon arrival here. When members haven't been declared on application because they were not with the family unit at the time the application was submitted, they are automatically excluded. That sometimes creates a lot of challenges there.
I hope that the government will make family reunification a top priority, as my co-panellists have described, to start something along this line.
The other important issue is the processing times of refugee sponsorship applications. Many groups of five and community groups have been waiting for a long time for the sponsorship applications to be finalized. Inland processing times have been really long, up to eight months at times, just for the application to be finalized in the Winnipeg office. It becomes very hard for community groups to come forward and make commitments when timelines are long or not clear.
In addition to the Syrian refugees, other non-Syrian refugees face wait times of up to 70 months, such as the case with refugees who are sponsored from the Nairobi office in Africa. When addressing wait times, I hope that all refugees, whether Syrian or others, will be addressed.
My co-workers and I have seen first-hand the effect of this on clients, from increased levels of stress, anxiety and panic attacks, to refugees feeling the guilt of leaving family members behind. Private sponsors become panicked when they receive a call from a refugee that their residence in the host country is to expire. Andrew already mentioned that.
We should all work really hard to sustain the level of community participation and engagement in supporting privately sponsored refugees. By expediting the processing of private sponsorship applications, more private sponsors would be involved in this honourable cause.
Thank you very much for the opportunity, and I look forward to our discussion.
The Chair: Thank you very much, Mr. Spindari.
Our final panellist this morning is Dr. Asmat Khan, and then we'll be open to questions. We already have four senators on the list.
Dr. Khan, I understand you will focus on mental health issues, which we've heard is extremely important. You have the floor.
Dr. Asmat Khan, as an individual: Thank you very much, honourable chair and respected senators.
I work as a private psychiatrist. On the weekends I work with inpatients as well, and I have done research in the past as a post-doc for three years.
I've read the previous transcripts and I'm aware that the current number of Syrian refugees is around 32,000. By a rough estimate of the studies done on the prevalence of PTSD, there could be 6,000 PTSD patients lurking among this population. My thought was that refugees are to be provided with reasonable health. By my understanding, reasonable help includes, just like the World Health Organization, mental health as an ingredient as well. I think there should be as much focus on this as on the physical side. The 6,000 patients with mental health needs need to be addressed.
I read somewhere that the assumption is that the mental health issues of arriving refugees will be absorbed by the existing mental health system. It is a public fact that we are short of psychiatrists and mental health resources. When we throw these 6,000 seriously ill and traumatized patients into a system that is strained, that's the one aspect of it.
The other aspect is that these patients have double needs because they usually cannot speak English well enough to do some sort of talk therapy, so there is usually an interpreter. This is one barrier to their receiving access to mental health care.
There are timing differences in planning. I have noted that the patient arrives and there will be no interpreter, or the interpreter arrives and there will be no patient. All the patients from the Syrian refugee side, in my practice, have serious PTSD, the equivalent, in a physical, sense of a limb or two not working. If these 6,000 cases were of a physical deformity, imagine the effort that we would have put in.
I have summarized my observations referring to having a screening system in place to pick out these 6,000 patients so that they don't suffer what they are suffering from, starting in their home country.
There are barriers to mental healthcare, even if it's available, which it is not, which are language, culture, interpretation of the mental health or PTSD itself. As I mentioned earlier, psychotherapy from the Western point of view is mostly ineffective.
In an ideal world, there should be a screening system in the Arabic language, a one-page screener, to run through these refugees to know for example the burden of PTSD so that we could do something about it in an organized way.
We need to do follow-up for these patients. PTSD is chronic and recurring. It appears and disappears. We need to observe it for a long period. As a rough estimate, we need extra psychiatrists for the system to take this load so that these people could get some relief.
Thank you very much. I appreciate.
The Chair: Thank you, doctor.
Is your practice is in Toronto?
Dr. Khan: Here in Ottawa.
The Chair: In previous testimony, we heard stories like this, so much so that there was a child taken to a dentist. Thank goodness the dentist did everything pro bono. The mother forgot that the child was at the dentist. She showed up at the school and thought the child had been kidnapped right here in Ottawa, and went into trauma. We appreciate your insights, and we'll have a lot more.
Senator Ataullahjan: I thank all of you for being here.
In the Senate, we recently heard from the minister. I'm going to read you my question:
The government has recently been representing Canada's private refugee sponsorship program on the global stage. While it is worthy of praise, the government should be acknowledging its deficiencies. In particular, it should be noted that the countless Syrian refugee sponsorship groups across Canada who have raised the necessary funds to support a refugee family for a year are still waiting after many months to receive their sponsored refugees.
Minister, you have said that the government is doing everything it can to accommodate the desire on the part of Canadians to sponsor Syrian refugees, but the measures and additional resources put in place to expedite the process were implemented only on a temporary basis, while the backlog remains.
It has been widely reported that language classes for newly arrived Syrian refugees have largely been scaled back or cancelled altogether because of significant shortages in federal funding.
Given that learning one of Canada's official languages is the vital first step in the integration process for newly arrived refugees, what is the government doing on an immediate basis . . . .
I didn't get a satisfactory answer, but he did give me some figures. He said that 100 per cent of them have permanent housing, 86 per cent have received language assessment and 64 per cent are enrolled in classes. There's a story out of Vancouver today about young people complaining about housing and how they need help to navigate the educational process in Canada. There was a CBC story yesterday where they were talking about tailor-made immigrant and refugee mental health services should be tailor-made for the refugees, keeping in mind the culture.
The problems are huge, yet the minister said that there's nothing more he can do for the Syrian refugees. What is your reaction to that?
I'm sorry to just throw this at you, but we are hearing similar issues. There's language training, mental health issues, and delays for people who are waiting for the sponsored families to arrive. I wasn't satisfied with the answer I got.
Ms. Keller-Herzog: On the delays in processing, we were pretty ecstatic when, at the height of the airlift, Winnipeg was turning files around in 24 hours. We would send them a complete private sponsorship application under the BVOR program, which means we had to do the Canadian side. They would look it over and deem it complete in one day, which was fantastic, and then it would travel on to the consular and visa office in the third country.
It's clear with an increased assignment of human resources that you can speed things up. I'm pretty sure that the minister has limited staff, but good management does mean reassignment of resources to priority areas. So there's maybe room there.
In terms of all the other issues you raised, we have observed that each family has different needs and stresses on them. In my remarks, I noted some of the highlights of needs that we've seen. I know, for example, the City of Ottawa has been preparing for Month 13, where a lot of the social assistance would then fall on the city in terms of the direct financial support. But in terms of some of the health services, the dental services, the psychological and psychiatric services, it's pretty clear that bringing on thousands of new arrivals from vulnerable groups is going to put stresses on our existing systems.
Mr. Spindari: I would like to address the issue of processing times. With regard to many of the CDM refugees, private sponsors I am working with are trying to bring them from the Iraqi Kurdish area. There have been a lot of delays. Some of them have been in processing for about 10 months now and nothing has happened.
Some of the things we proposed were maybe utilizing the local immigration office contractor that the Canadian government uses for issuing temporary visas for visitors to Canada and people who are trying to study in Canada. The contractor is the International Organization for Migration. They are currently processing temporary resident applications. One of the things was what if they extend their work to include the processing of applications of Syrians over there?
So there are some possibilities. I think there are other ways that could happen. We were really excited when the turnaround was faster, but it's getting longer right now.
Rev. Cornelius: I would add my voice to that. There was an understanding when the 25,000 were coming in February that that required extra resources. I think what is quite evident is there was this mobilization of energy that created a second bubble that demands extra resources at this time, which may not unfold into a permanent way of doing that. But I do think we're at a critical crisis where if you lose the mobilized goodwill energy of Canadians that's there now and money is sitting in the bank, we need to understand it's like that kind of a bubble. We should have a specific way of addressing that and putting human resources in place. I know people are working very hard, but there are not enough human resources to make it happen. I think it's as simple as that.
Senator Gagné: Canada has been welcoming refugees and immigrants for ages. From a systems management perspective, what do we need to change in the system to make it work? We have the experience. We have the resources. I hear that we need more resources, but there seems to be something wrong or broken in the system, and I'd like to have your view on this.
Dr. Khan: From a mental health perspective, and an honourable senator already noted this, our system is in silos, such as with medical information and parallel resources. It is my observation that there is duplication.
Senator Gagné: What about a system where you bring private sponsors and also the public or the government working together? Do you have any recommendations pertaining to that?
Mr. Spindari: One recommendation that came out might be to look at the blended visa referral. Right now, persons who are nominated to be on the list of the blended visa referral are only from the government side. If we have to use that to for family reunification, it would be really good. To be named by private groups, individuals who can be part of that, I think would help ease the stress on the refugees who are already here, and it will find ways for private sponsors who are really interested in helping the family connected to the family they sponsored earlier. That might be one of the ways.
Senator Omidvar: Thank you all. First of all, congratulations for doing the work that you do. Along with Senator Munson, I also sponsor a family. Wonderful testimony and great ideas, such as the food handling program. My family will hopefully be able to do that.
My question, though, is about the underbelly of all of this. I'm not talking about refugees who are not able to plug into the system. We know there are private sponsors who don't work out. We know there are sponsorships that break down. It's like two human beings; they don't get along and things happen.
I have heard, and I want some clarification on this, that most of the private sponsorships that break down happen in the community when a family member sponsors another family member. They come, and after the first two months they say, "Well, goodbye. I don't really have a place for you to live in my house and I don't really have all this money that I said I would give you.''
Do you have a sense whether this is a small phenomenon? Even if it is, there are families at risk. What are you doing to make sure that these sponsored refugee families are not abandoned completely?
Have you never heard of it? It does happen.
Rev. Cornelius: You are asking specifically about when families have brought in family members. I probably get a phone call a week asking for support around family reunification. We have a mechanism to assess that, but we recognize that there are limits. As an organization, we have to ensure that if we are helping families bring individuals, we take on the responsibility fundamentally, so we have to assess the family's capacity to offer ongoing support. That's the kind of work that we're doing as private sponsorships.
I can't speak for all sponsorships everywhere, but I think that supporting organizations like MOSAIC and others that have expertise in working out financial frameworks and offering assurances to give the best leg up to make these private sponsorships work is important. That's why I talked about by making sure we had financial frameworks that were ethical and that we actually knew we had the capacity.
Sometimes promises are made that can't be realized, so one has to assess to assure those promises can be realized.
Ms. Keller-Herzog: I think your question actually touches on a whole bunch of different support relationships. There's inside the family, from refugee to family member of refugee. There is the private sponsor support to refugee family, and then I think we also have the government-assisted refugees that have relatively little support.
I think the first observation is that refugees are people, just like the rest of us, and sometimes we have fights in our families and sometimes people don't speak for a while. So I think they are in some sense just normal people, and if there is the odd story about a family becoming dysfunctional, especially out of vulnerable groups like this, it's not something initially based on a couple of anecdotal evidence and we should be so surprised. This happens. The question is whether there are support structures to catch people who have fallen out of that support structure.
I think the PSRs that are breaking down, in our case we have family support groups that have more than one or two people, so it's not based on personalities. We have groups of people, and there are community mechanisms where people are watching relationships.
Sometimes in very rural areas where a family is staying with another family and is dependent on them for transportation, that dependence can be a more vulnerable and more fragile thing. We have had more refugee settlement in urban areas in part for that reason.
I think it's pretty clear that Canada has been bragging a little bit internationally about our wonderful PSR system, but at the same time we now have these silos where the GARs aren't getting very much community support. Where there used to be structures to create linkages of support between community and GARs, those programs have been shelved and we have now the two structures operating in silos.
As some here have been saying, there is a lot of community goodwill that could be leveraged and utilized towards more effective settlement and integration of the GARs. That's definitely a potential area that remains untapped.
Mr. Spindari: At MOSAIC we have been involved with conflict resolution. We invite the private sponsors and privately sponsored refugees to come together, either separately or together, to have a discussion around what the issues are and try to find ways to do that.
The breakdown of undertakings happen, but it's really in small numbers, not very high. We had some private sponsors who had rented homes and had things ready, and they actually started to take care of government-assisted refugees, so it was the other way around. They're taking people from temporary accommodation to house them on a temporary basis until the other families come.
But the reality is that the breakdown of private sponsorship happens mostly with family members, as you indicated, and sometimes the privately sponsored refugees don't want to be a burden on the family because they know how they struggle very hard to make ends meet. That's the other issue.
The Chair: Senator Ataullahjan was just telling me that I asked a question of the minister, recalling what the minister had said on reunification and that bringing more Syrian refugees would be at the expense of other refugees, that we can't accommodate every refugee in the world. But that seemed to be his answer.
Do you have any comment on that? This is part of the conversation. Is that a good enough answer from the minister? "Sorry, reunification may work, but it may be at the expense of other refugees.'' Does it have to be either/or? Can it be both?
Ms. Keller-Herzog: Increasing numbers means that it doesn't have to be either/or.
Second, if we want our new arrivals to do well, it's pretty clear that they do better if they're walking into an existing network of an existing family that's started to take root. Based on the criteria of wanting new arrivals to do well, it makes sense to bring family reunification candidates.
Senator Andreychuk: I think Senator Munson and I have been at this committee too long, because he started the question that I was going to ask, and perhaps I'll leave most of it for the government officials later.
The Chair: This has happened before, which drives me personally, as a chair — there is a government official actually listening to this testimony so that they can adequately answer. When we ask these questions later, "Well, we didn't hear that. We will take that down. We'll take notations.'' It's just a thought.
Senator Andreychuk: Just a thought. Thank you.
From a public policy point of view, the refugee system was set up for very vulnerable people who had nowhere to go. They could not go back, and not of their own choosing. We always talked about immigration and then we created the refugee system.
I put aside those who choose to come to Canada or are selected to come to Canada or encouraged to come to Canada.
The refugees have left a crisis in their own homes and have had temporary solutions given to them. Now we've got the private sponsorship. I want to know how you judge who you take. I hear very strongly those who can be integrated well, but those aren't the most vulnerable in many cases.
Is there some consensus of why there was this groundswell to respond to the Syrian refugees where this isn't a groundswell to, say, Mali or those who have been in refugee camps for a long time around the world? We have an awful lot of displaced people who have come to the conclusion that they can't go back home.
I want to know why this groundswell? Is it because the government encouraged and made it easier? Some of you have been in the field of refugee work much longer than the Syrian crisis of today. We're here trying to assess what would be the best public policy to respond to an international crisis. The crisis is not just one area. It's a worldwide crisis.
I would like a response from your community as to why you choose and how you choose. Is it the best that can be integrated, or is it the most vulnerable that need?
Rev. Cornelius: My response would be twofold. One, we are usually responding to our network of relationships, and so we have a wide variety. We're dealing with some extraordinarily vulnerable situations. I am dealing with three women in Somalia — we're trying to bring them to Canada — who are victims of sexual violence. One of the challenges we face is they are being asked for notarized documents, and they have to leave safe zones in order to try to get notarized documents. That is just craziness, so we are working with very vulnerable people. We also work with highly professional persons who have come.
It's the network of relationships, and we don't try to get into what we call a lifeboat situation where we're picking people.
What I would recognize is that we can't do everything in this world, and so there are choices. From public policy point of view, I think that money is best spent and utilized through family reunification where there are those networks so that we have a greater chance of success. Those networks would have a whole spectre of very vulnerable persons and very professional persons. Family reunification gets us out of making a choice in that way but focuses in on potential for success. That would be the first thing.
Second, in response to the Syrian crisis, groups like OCRA partnered with us as a church. We started looking at the BVOR list, and many of the individuals we brought came from other parts of the world. Half of yours are not Syrian, and so there has been this awakening to the refugee crisis around the globe. I think that has been a good thing. For whatever reason why the Syrian issue put this back into Canadian consciousness, my hope is to have public policy so that how we respond to refugees remains in our consciousness as a country in an ongoing way, really developing good policies that would encourage that.
I come back to the BVOR program because it leverages government and community involvement that is a partnership. There is that sense that we're not in isolation, and that partnership really enhances a public policy of ongoing response to refugees this year and in decades to come.
The Chair: Just for clarification, could you please define BVOR?
Rev. Cornelius: Blended visa office referral.
The Chair: Canadians are watching this televised committee meeting.
Rev. Cornelius: It's six months of support from government and six months of support from the sponsorship group. Often the sponsorship group chips in more than the half, because it actually takes more money.
Senator Andreychuk: What is the answer when I go into a refugee camp and they say to me, "I don't have any link to Canada. I don't have any family. Why am I not as important to you?''
The Chair: I don't know if there is an answer to that, but I know that Senator Omidvar has a quick supplementary to your question before we go to Senator Poirier.
Senator Omidvar: It is a very pointed question. Is it not true that the numbers of BVORs coming into Canada are decreasing, not increasing?
Rev. Cornelius: I have people coming who would like to do a BVOR and we don't have access to BVOR now. My understanding of the BVOR program is that it's not happening in the way it was, and we would encourage that it be re- established. If you're looking at family reunification, BVOR offered a very good model for how we could leverage community groups and government in a family reunification focus.
Senator Poirier: Thank you everyone for being here. I want to explain a situation and see if that challenge is out there in other places.
I'm from New Brunswick, which is one of the smaller provinces. Even our bigger cities are very small compared to a lot of the big cities across Canada, where a lot of refugees or immigrant people come in. They have social networks and community attachments to a lot of other people there.
In the last few weeks in the newspapers at home, there has been a situation that has been talked about a few times. Last November, New Brunswickers opened up their hearts and homes. I don't know the number of those who were privately sponsored or government sponsored, but 1,400 and some people came into the province of New Brunswick. Out of that, only 400 and some, from what I read, were over age 18. There was an equal mix of men and women over 18. It surprised many New Brunswickers that out of that number only 103 found employment in New Brunswick.
We know that New Brunswick has an aging population, and they are really looking at opening their doors to more immigrants. Also, I think a request has come in recently or there have been discussion between the Government of New Brunswick and the Government of Canada that New Brunswick is willing to accept another 2,000 to 2,500 people and that they would welcome them.
I thought I read that there was an attached condition: New Brunswick has to show that it is able to maintain them and keep them. This is the fear that some people have with the 1,400 who are there. There are only 103 working now, and the year ends in November. Out of that number, only 400 and some are over 18. We have a chance that those under 18 will learn our language and culture and fit in, but will we be able to keep them in New Brunswick long enough so that they don't move on to a big city in Canada? It's definitely a challenge for small provinces and rural communities.
Reverend, you spoke about having sponsored thousands across the country in many different areas. Other people I know are more focused on a city, but is this a challenge that we're seeing across the country for smaller provinces, for rural areas in all our provinces? What can we do or how can we help to make sure these people can fit in more with us and find employment?
I wrote down one idea that I liked, reverend. You are approaching different communities, organizations and local businesses to see if there is any way they would take people on. New Brunswick is one of the only officially bilingual provinces, so you're' dealing with the francophones and anglophones.
Are there any comments or ideas you would like to share with us that would help the smaller provinces that want to accept refugees and have them stay?
Mr. Spindari: Maybe I will address the employment issue first. We have to understand that in terms of the numbers we received in B.C., about 60 per cent were under the age of 18; so they were young.
Most of the time moms are staying at home, so they are working from home, taking care of six or four kids at a time. If the father figure is the one looking for employment, then the number would be as you mentioned. One hundred who find employment out of 400 would be a good number.
It is a challenge for the smaller communities. We have had the same issue in B.C. We had a wonderful sponsorship group on Pender Island, close to Victoria. They sponsored a family that didn't stay.
Migration happens between all communities and populations, but I think it's happening with the Syrians as well. I haven't seen a large number of people travelling between provinces with the Syrian group, so I hope that they stay in New Brunswick.
Catherine Fleming, Outreach, Ottawa Centre Refugee Action: I think the number of 103 employed is not surprising. From our OCRA experience, many of the refugees who have arrived may not have a formal education in their home country and also have high ESL needs. For example, Arabic to English is very hard to learn.
We're in the phase right now where they want to concentrate on learning FSL or ESL so they can be better employed. The programs that Brian is talking about are the things I would encourage.
For example, one family Angela and I are working with, the husband has asked if they can extend the ESL beyond the year because they are not ready to enter the workforce in the way they want to. They may not have formal trade education in their home country, like Syria, and so they will need adequate English or French language skills to participate in those programs to be certified.
It's going to take a long period of time. If we continue focusing on those programs that mix employment with on- the-job training that's informal, combined with continued resources for ESL or FSL, that is the way to go.
Senator Poirier: It's only there for the 12 months, so now they're going to fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial social programs?
Ms. Fleming: Yes. But they can continue their English language beyond the year; there's no cutoff at a year. I think that's federal.
Mr. Spindari: It's provided through the language instructions for newcomers to Canada, which is a federally funded program. It's not for a year.
Ms. Fleming: No, they continue on.
Senator Hubley: Thank you for your presentations this morning.
A report was released by the Mental Health Commission of Canada and referred to the economic and social importance of tailored mental health services for Canada's immigrant and refugee population. The report emphasized early intervention.
Your organizations now work on the front line. What is the process to identify issues that maybe adults or children are having in the mental health field? Do you have people within your organization who are trained to identify those? Do you have the resources to refer them for treatment?
The Chair: Dr. Khan, are you connected with these organizations, or are you being tapped into?
Dr. Khan: No, I am an individual. I would love to meet some of them. If there are any suggestions to do that, I would love that.
Just like the honourable senator mentioned, we need to know the number of individuals who need further help because most of them are children. We have some hopes for these children, too. But PTSD will not let us get those hopes for those children in the future. Trauma, for any refugee, in any country, in any war, is a horrible thing and will leave a permanent mark. If these services are coordinated and centrally monitored, we could get such data.
Rev. Cornelius: I would answer your question directly in two ways.
When working with sponsorship groups, we acknowledge that there are minimums set as guidelines on the forms, but we actually raise significantly more money than that because we are aware of contingency factors in order to help with integration.
We have been involved in offering support to individuals who we have come to recognize need counselling and have arranged for private counselling for them through our own funds. It's not part of their regular budget. Many of us are conscious that those are part of the issues that come with them.
The advantage of private sponsorship groups that are conscious of that is the networks we have in order to connect them with those services. Many are professionals in these circles. A number of you have identified that you're in these circles, so you can see the expertise that comes from a volunteer circle around there, as well as some financial resources.
We also understand that while a year comes to an end, relationships don't come to an end. Many individuals are very hesitant to access professional mental health services because that's not part of the culture or not something they've experienced before, so it's actually informal networks that provide more support around that movement in those areas. Again, that's why I think it's one of the benefits of mobilizing volunteer energies that happen in private sponsorship groups.
Mr. Spindari: In Vancouver, all of the government-assisted refugees and most of the privately sponsored ones are receiving a medical assessment at a specialized clinic called the Bridge Clinic, which is a clinic of the Vancouver Coastal Health. They will do all sorts of assessments, and if there is a need for mental health, they will do the referral.
I totally agree with the reverend. The network of support for those involved with the groups are those providing the support needed for the families because, culturally, mental health is not something where people will try to go and get professional support.
Ms. Keller-Herzog: I want to tell you a brief anecdote.
One of our incoming refugees has a tooth abscess. She's been advised by the dentist to take antibiotics and then to seek medical treatment. She has a lack of trust of dental care. She's taking painkillers and has been doing so for some months. We are extremely concerned about this situation. Even when there is a situation of clear physical pain, the problem is not the referral. She knows there's a dentist. She said it's not a gender issue, the fact that the dentist is male. So the referral is there, but the trust and the understanding that you go for services is not there.
The social worker idea of keep the referrals going, keep the brochures going, is a really weak link. As Brian was saying, having relationships of trust and awareness, seeing when somebody is financially abused, seeing when there might be a problem, are really key levers.
Senator Ngo: One of the recommendations in our report is waiving the transportation loan. Do you think an immigration loan for transportation is an economic burden for the new refugees? Do you think that represents a high level of stress? What do we do to alleviate that burden?
The Chair: You can say yes to both.
Mr. Spindari: We feel that it's a burden. The program is a humanitarian program, and it's creating a burden for the refugees. It would be great if it was waived.
Senator Ngo: If the transportation loan is not waived, for a family of six who comes to Canada and represents approximately $10,000, do you think they can repay that loan?
Mr. Spindari: They can repay it. Most of them are repaying the amount, but they are cutting corners in order to do that. They are taking from the child care subsidies they are getting in order to make these payments. So the will is there. They are doing that. But because we are treating the whole program as a humanitarian program, if it is waived, it would ease their transition and integration and settlement into their communities.
The Chair: Thank you very much. This has been extremely helpful. We realized when we got into this early in the year that we needed another meeting, and we probably need more. You've given us incredible evidence and have shown your compassion. We empathize, obviously, with you. We will soon make recommendations. These were observations before, but they sort of turned into recommendations. We have more evidence that once on the ground much more needs to be done for families and partners in our Canadian society, and we applaud all of you for what you're doing.
Honourable senators, we've had officials with us before and we've had the minister with us, but following the summer recess and after the interim report where we put out observations and the voices of many who were involved in this program, we have more questions, and we know the government officials have answers.
On our second panel today we have, from the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Dawn Edlund, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations; Ümit Kiziltan, Acting Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy; Corinne Prince St-Amand, Director General, Integration-Foreign Credentials Recognition Office; and Bruce Grundison, Senior Director.
I understand that Ms. Edlund will lead off. The floor is yours. Welcome.
[Translation]
Dawn Edlund, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: Thank you, Mr. Chair, for inviting us to appear before your committee today.
[English]
We're happy to be able to provide you with an update on how things have progressed with the Syrian refugee resettlement initiative since Minister McCallum's appearance at your committee in May. We also thank the committee for its study of this important issue and for the preliminary observations that were released in July. I will be addressing those observations throughout my opening remarks today.
In relation to processing, since November 4, 2015, we have now welcomed more than 31,000 Syrian refugees to more than 300 communities across Canada. Today, we are happy to be able to share with you that 100 per cent of the government-assisted refugees who arrived before the end of February are already now in permanent housing, which is an important first step on their integration journey. We have more than 20,000 further applications in process as well.
Overall, we are on track to meet our commitment to bring in 25,000 government-supported refugees by December 31. This is a combination of government-assisted and the Blended Visa Office-Referred cases. We're also keeping to our target to finalize the processing of all privately sponsored refugee applications that were submitted for Syrian refugees up until the end of March this year, by the end of 2016 or early 2017. That's about 12,000 more people on the private sponsorship side.
Of course, this is in the overall context of resettling over 44,000 refugees to Canada this calendar year, which is a very significant increase compared to what we have normally done annually for refugee resettlement.
On immigration loans, the committee has raised concerns about the current system for the program. I can tell you that, following the findings of the program evaluation in the fall of 2015, the department is looking into possible reforms to the program and we'll be providing policy advice to the minister on various options.
Also important to note is that those who experience difficulty in making payments may request a deferral of repayment of up to 24 additional months and at any time people facing hardships can request a review of their repayment arrangement so as not to create further undue burdens. We tweaked our website over the course of the summer to try to clarify and bring that information up to the forefront for people to be able to find it.
[Translation]
Supportive social networks and service provider organizations are essential to the integration of all refugees, not just Syrians.
This is true in all areas. However, your committee's interim report highlighted specific needs in the areas of mental health and in services for youth.
[English]
IRCC and its partners, such as service providers, sponsors, health professionals and other jurisdictions, are working together to prepare to meet the refugees' mental health needs. All individuals who are eligible for the Interim Federal Health Program coverage will be eligible for the same level of coverage. That includes basic care similar to provincial or territorial health insurance, as well as supplemental benefits.
Specifically to mental health, this includes private psychotherapist services if referred there by their primary doctor, and prescription drug coverage similar to what Canadians receiving social assistance are eligible for.
The government is ready to deal with these issues at all stages of resettlement, but in keeping with expert advice, we understand these needs are best dealt with in a stable, supportive environment and quite often only emerge once refugees are established in their communities of destination.
In terms of services for youth, IRCC's settlement program provides funding for settlement workers who are placed in about 3,000 elementary and secondary schools where there are high numbers of immigrant students. They offer specialized, culturally appropriate services and short-term supportive counselling on issues related to settlement, education and mental health.
You may have heard about the newcomer orientation week sessions that take place in schools before the start of each school year. These sessions include activities designed to introduce students to the people and the resources that can help them settle into their new school. It prepares newcomer students, reduces their stress and anxiety about the transition and prepares them for earlier participation in the life of their new school.
[Translation]
Overall, Syrian refugees who have arrived in Canada are getting information, finding jobs, and acquiring and refining their language skills, but this will take time.
[English]
We are in the midst of conducting an assessment to determine how Syrians who arrived in Canada by March 1 are integrating, and preliminary findings are showing us that, of those we surveyed, more than half of the privately sponsored refugees have already found employment, which is quite encouraging. Employment rates for government- assisted refugees in this evaluation, who typically have substantially lower language skills than those privately sponsored, are employed now at the rate of about 12 per cent. It may seem low, but it's again a good initial step.
As the majority of Syrian refugees do require language training in English or French as a first step, it will take some time before many will have the language skills necessary to enter the workforce.
[Translation]
Language training has been a major priority as part of the refugees' settlement and integration journey.
[English]
We are aware that there have been challenges in addressing the needs for language training, but we can report that as of the end of August, over 9,700 Syrian adults, which is 87 per cent of the eligible adults for language training outside of Quebec, had already received that important language assessment, which tells us which level of language course they should be placed in. Of those who had their language training needs assessed, over 6,100, about 64 per cent had enrolled already in IRCC-funded language training.
As additional funding was made available to service provider organizations before the end of June, we expect that this number will increase. As you provide funding, they hire more staff and open more classroom spaces. That's just the way it works.
With regard to the rapid impact evaluation I mentioned a minute ago, the preliminary findings are that 95 per cent of government-assisted refugees surveyed are enrolled in some form of language training. Whether that IRCC's or the province's or conversation classes, they are getting that support. For privately sponsored refugees it's at 79 per cent.
The demand for federally funded language instruction is high, and so IRCC continues to work with service provider organizations and other levels of government to determine where needs are, to determine partnership opportunities and to ensure a coordinated approach.
It is also worth noting that while federal income support ends 12 months after arrival, access to settlement support services continues, which means language training and employment-related support services will continue.
The committee, in its interim report, raised the idea of accelerating Child Tax Benefit processing times for refugees in order to prevent undue financial hardship. We'd like to assure the committee that we've worked with the Canada Revenue Agency to expedite the delivery of the Child Tax Benefit. With the changes announced in Budget 2016, this is a significant augmentation for many of the Syrian refugee families. We continue the work with the Canada Revenue Agency, and our next step is to ensure that families file tax returns so that these much-needed benefits are not interrupted. We are working with the Canada Revenue Agency on a plan right now to address that and get the word out.
Many of you are probably wondering what is next for Syrian refugees, now that many of them are approaching one year in Canada and the end of federal government or private income sponsorship. I assure you that IRCC is working with our partners at all levels on this matter. Just last week the minister had a candid discussion with his provincial and territorial counterparts about the challenges that lie ahead, what's been called "Month 13.'' Canada has a long history of resettling refugees, and we know from that experience that the transition to life in Canada continues after that first year of support. Some refugees who are now permanent residents are part of our family. They're not refugees who are separate and apart. They will be successful in the short term, while others will take longer. That's a reality for all the refugees we've resettled.
Our goal is for refugees to be self-sufficient and gainfully employed. This is a long-term goal that requires the participation of all jurisdictions and players, including business and civil society.
[Translation]
In conclusion, the Syrian resettlement effort was an exceptional and time-limited situation that required extraordinary measures.
[English]
We know that in addition to Syrian refugees there are many refugee populations who need Canada's protection, which is why we continue to process applications for other refugee populations, according to existing processing standards and to the greatest extent possible.
So while much work still lies ahead both in terms of integrating Syrian refugees and in maintaining our commitments to resettling other vulnerable populations, we are confident that we will be able to rise with all Canadians to the occasion.
The Chair: Thank you very much for this information and the update. As you've heard, we're full of questions. We really appreciate your being here.
Senator Ataullahjan: Thank you very much for your presentation. It was almost like listening to the minister all over again, the way he answered my question in the chamber. Anyway, I thank you for that.
Forty extra staff were dedicated to expediting the process of Syrian refugees. They were pulled on June 18, 2016. Did these officials return because all the applications for sponsored refugee families were completed? If not, why would they return to Canada?
Are the refugees made aware in their own language of the loan repayment options, or are those options outlined only on a website?
Ms. Edlund: In answer to the first question, we did have a processing blitz in Beirut of about six weeks in May and June to address the third commitment that the government made in relation to the privately sponsored refugees, just over 12,000 people who had applications in before the end of March. To meet the commitment of processing by the end of 2016 or early 2017, we moved a team in there of over 40 people to be able to start that interviewing process in a heavy blitz. We've continued working on those files throughout the course of the summer and even now. Other additional temporary duty staff have gone on-site in Beirut, for example. So we've paced out the number of staff needed to meet the goal in the timeline.
Senator Ataullahjan: You're telling me the 40 staff was not pulled back? They did not return to Canada?
Ms. Edlund: If you're asking about the particular 40 people, yes, they probably have returned either to the mission where they were originally working or back to Canada. But then other temporary duty staff who have gone in, just not at the same level.
Bruce Grundison, Senior Director, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: It was a surge to kick-start the processing required to meet the commitment for the year, so it's part of the plan. It was a temporary measure. We often send staff for periods of six weeks. We just sent a large number of staff for a period of six weeks.
Senator Ataullahjan: Do you look at if the need has been fulfilled or do you automatically send them for six weeks? If there's still a huge backlog, that doesn't matter? They're there for six weeks and they do what they can and then pull back? Is that how it works?
Mr. Grundison: They completed what we asked them to do, which was to process several thousand applications, which kept the processing on pace to be able to meet the commitment by early 2017. It was what was necessary. Processing didn't stop. It's just that it was a surge at the beginning.
Ms. Edlund: In terms of the plan, when we had the number of cases we had to interview and given the time frame by end of 2016 or early 2017, we kick in a large amount of staff initially to kick-start that, and then we continued processing those files over the course of the summer and in the fall. We just don't need as many staff now to meet the goal of the timing we were given.
Senator Ataullahjan: You don't need as many staff because there isn't a need? Are there fewer applications?
Ms. Edlund: There are still lots of applications. Many applications have come in for privately sponsored refugees after March 31, but those aren't part of a processing commitment for us as of yet.
Senator Ataullahjan: You must have heard the previous testimony, the group that we had before you. We're looking at mental health issues; we're looking at language classes, delays and family reunification.
The Globe and Mail reported about the young Syrian refugees in Vancouver saying they're concerned about the high cost of living and the difficulty of navigating a complex education system. The young people need help. We heard that from testimony in Montreal also, specifically from those who are looking at degrees. Will there be any kind of help for the young people?
What are we doing about mental health issues? We heard from a doctor that he thinks we're going to see an explosion of mental health issues once the refugees have settled in. I applaud the government on the work it's done on housing. Once they've settled in, life is returning to normal. We were warned that's when we'll see an explosion in mental health issues. Is there any kind of program in place for that? Is it on the radar?
Ms. Edlund: It's certainly on our radar. I'll start and then pass to my colleague Corinne Prince St-Amand.
Health issues are a provincial jurisdiction, but I'd like to underline the fact that several components of our settlement programming actually try to get at the situation of mental health and make it a priority.
We have a variety of programs which promote independence, health recovery and community integration so people don't feel isolated. We've been working with the Canadian Association of Mental Health on developing programming for our settlement workers so we can train them to recognize the early signs of what might be a developing mental health problem.
I said in my opening remarks that now that we have people who are in a safe and stable environment, we anticipate that mental health needs are going to be far more noticeable and urgent as people are in a place where they're safe now. But we need to work together with the provinces and territories and some of the associations.
The overall plan is to work in concert with one another. One of the terrific things that has happened is that there are so many organizations now like the Canadian Mental Health Association, Immigrant Services Society of BC, our own rapid impact evaluation, like information coming from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council where we're funding research, we are studying this population in depth and trying to identify what the needs and gaps are and whether we can move funding to address those gaps.
Corinne Prince St-Amand, Director General, Integration-Foreign Credentials Referral Office, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: As Dawn mentioned, the handover between federal programming into the provincial health system is critical. Our service provider organizations across the country are the first stop for the refugees. As they are providing needs assessment and language training, issues like mental health are being identified. Once they're identified, there's an initial assessment to hand over to the appropriate provincial health authority.
As you well know, mental health is an issue that is not as visible as physical health attributes. As Dawn said, the service provider organization staff is being trained to identify these issues and raise them in an appropriate way with the client and then provide the appropriate handover.
We've been working very closely and monitoring the Mental Health Commission of Canada's report, which just was released yesterday, and not surprisingly the report found that these populations are accessing mental health services less frequently than the Canadian public. That is an issue that the department raised with provincial and territorial colleagues last week in Winnipeg at the ministers' meeting, and we'll continue to work closely with our provincial and territorial colleagues, as well as our service provider organizations.
Senator Ataullahjan: These populations, do they know they have mental health facilities available to them? The federal government brought the refugees in. I understand it's a provincial responsibility, but at some point you need to connect with the provinces and say this is an issue.
Doctors are saying it. We've heard compelling testimony. We heard today that there is an issue, and there is going to be an issue. For someone from a war zone, they can come and be in a safe environment, but the horrors of what they went through will not go away. I'm not a doctor or a psychiatrist, but I know there will be mental health issues.
The Chair: The doctor talked about his equation, saying that 6,000 would be suffering from PTSD out of the 32,000. While it has been handed over to the provinces, and while you did say the minister had a candid conversation with the provinces, is there a mechanism of knowing if any of these 6,000 or a few of them are receiving mental health counselling today? Do we have any way of knowing that?
The good doctor did talk about Western psychology maybe not working in this particular cultural environment. We're trying to get down to the street level of care.
Ms. Edlund: Under the Interim Federal Health Program, we're tracking who is using which health services. In my opening remarks, I referred to some mental health services available under the Interim Federal Health Program. In this first six to eight months, very few people have been accessing those services under the Interim Federal Health Program. That doesn't mean there's not a problem; maybe the people are more focused on other issues related to their integration journey. It may mean people are accessing it through provincial and territorial health coverage. We're not sure.
That's a small indication that does not represent the reality of these people's lives and the post-traumatic stress disorder they will experience now that they're in a safer environment.
Ümit Kiziltan, Acting Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: From the very beginning, going back to November 2015, we started establishing what we call an outcomes monitoring framework, establishing performance measurement information sources in collaboration with the provinces and territories, establishing evaluation interventions, and also setting up research projects so we can work with this population to understand their conditions and their movement.
We have insight from decades-long studies and work with refugee populations. Absolutely in terms of mental health challenges or other types of employment challenges, language training, we are aware of them, and we do share them with our provincial colleagues.
We will hopefully get to discuss some of the performance information that we are able to monitor in terms of what type of needs have been assessed and what type of language classes individuals are taking. But when it comes to mental health and accessing provincially provided services, we don't have those means at the moment, but we have very active tables with provincial colleagues.
And you would appreciate that there are privacy issues concerning the types of health services individuals are receiving. We need to deal with those before we can say that we are collecting information systematically and whether certain needs are being met.
Senator Omidvar: I'm going to stick with the question of the rate and pace of arrivals of Syrian refugees promised to private sponsors who filed their applications before March 31, 2016, to arrive by the end of this year or early 2017. I'm assuming you mean by the end of March 2017.
I'm in touch with a bunch of them who are fairly upset. That's a mild way of putting it. They have got money. Some of them have rented apartments, painted them. They're Skyping with the children of the families in the camps and have created an emotional bond. There's nothing I can say to them, except the minister has promised they will arrive by March 2017.
I have a question related to research. We have done this before; the comparative context with the Vietnamese arrivals does not escape us. What did it take us in terms of government resources and personnel to get X number of Vietnamese private-sponsored refugees over X number of years to Canada, and can we compare that to our effort today? That should give us an indication of whether we are on par and whether we are investing what we need to in terms of government infrastructure. I'm not talking about services. I'm going more to Senator Ataullahjan's question about people in the field. Are we doing more or less the same or are we falling short by our own benchmark?
Ms. Edlund: I know a little about the Vietnamese resettlement movement. If you don't know, Mike Molloy, one of the leads from the Government of Canada, has written a book that has just been published. My understanding is that about 60,000 Vietnamese were resettled over an 18-month period. That's my understanding of what the benchmark was. As I said, that's before my time working with Immigration, so I stand to be corrected on the numbers, but those are the numbers I have.
Senator Omidvar: It's over a longer period.
Ms. Edlund: They had a year to plan before they even started doing it, which is a different scenario from the venture we were on with the operation of Syrian refugees.
To date, I can give you a few numbers about that third commitment of where we are on interviewing people. We thought we would see approximately 7,400 people go through the process. Not everyone will get a yes, so not all 7,400 will arrive here. We were thinking that about 5,000 of those will arrive by the end of December. Then that would be about 4,800 to finish the processing in early 2017. We are using that kind of March-ish date for that.
Up to now, post-interview or already with a final decision ready to come to Canada or already admitted, we've gone through 10,018. I can give you exact numbers. We have 3,100 people who have already landed from that 12,000-some- odd cohort. We have 1,400 people who are ready to fly. They have a visa; they've gone through the Canadian orientation abroad course; and we are just waiting for the International Organization for Migration to schedule their travel, which normally takes four to six weeks after the visa is issued.
We have about 900 cases where there has been a negative decision made or the refugee has actually withdrawn their application and not pursued it.
For those who have already been interviewed and are going through medical and security screening, that's about 5,400 more people. So we are well on the way of getting through that cohort of 12,200.
Senator Omidvar: That's helpful. Thank you.
Senator Nancy Ruth: My first question is about money and transfers to the provinces for the costs that are now going to be incurred by them, and the other is how you're doing your gender-based analysis.
How much does it cost per refugee, in your estimation, to bring them in and pay for them federally in the first year and in the next four years? Do you have any figures on that?
Ms. Edlund: I don't have individual figures per refugee, but we could get them for you on how we did the costing.
Senator Nancy Ruth: Like a family?
Ms. Edlund: On a family unit. I don't have them at my fingertips at the moment, but that is available. We can follow up on that.
Senator Nancy Ruth: If only 12 per cent are employed of those that have come in, the rest of the costs are therefore transferred on to the provinces and the various services the provinces have to pay.
Ms. Edlund: For social assistance, yes.
Senator Nancy Ruth: What mechanism is there in the federal transfers or in a special fund for this thing that those debt-ridden provinces like mine, Ontario, are going to get help with from the federal government? Is there a mechanism for that? What is the amount? How does it work, province by province?
Ms. Prince St-Amand: Thank you, Senator Nancy Ruth.
The federal settlement programming is allocated across the country in jurisdictions. The funding doesn't actually go to provinces and territories; it goes to settlement provider organizations in the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, et cetera, by jurisdiction. So there is a formula for that.
In addition, the federal government has provided a Syrian supplement, which is on top of that, and the way that has been attributed is based on where the Syrians landed as of February 29, 2016.
In addition to that, as we look at moving past month 13 and the minute that the Syrian families arrive, an additional federal benefit that we've noticed is actually quite substantial is what Ms. Edlund mentioned in her opening statement around the Canada Child Benefit. Our colleagues at the Canada Revenue Agency are asking all of us to try to get out the message that Syrian refugee families do need to file their income tax forms, because if they don't, the Canada Child Benefit will end.
This varies by jurisdiction, but just to give you a sense, a family of six in Ontario receives $48,285 a year in federal benefits. That is a combination of the Canada Child Benefit as well as the GST credit. In addition to the Child Benefit, if a family is earning less than $30,000 a year, they can apply for a tax reimbursement that covers the GST they would have had to pay on goods and services. So $48,000 for a family of six is a fairly significant contribution.
Senator Nancy Ruth: For one year?
Ms. Prince St-Amand: That's annually.
Senator Nancy Ruth: For how long?
Ms. Prince St-Amand: It's based on the children's ages, so up to the age of 18.
I said it varied by province and territory. I have a similar example for the province of Nova Scotia. Just to give you a comparison, for Nova Scotia the same family of six would be $43,486 annually.
Senator Nancy Ruth: What is the Syrian supplement and how is it worked out?
Ms. Prince St-Amand: The Syrian supplement is additional funding that the government put in place to send to service provider organizations to help them provide the additional language training, employment training and mental health services, all of the settlement services provided by the federal government through the service provider organizations across Canada. It's not a direct supplement to each individual; it's funding that has gone to service provider organizations.
Senator Nancy Ruth: Based on how many they service? You get X number of dollars if you do a hundred or a thousand or whatever?
Ms. Prince St-Amand: That's correct.
Senator Poirier: Following up on the question Senator Nancy Ruth asked and the answer you gave about a family of six in Ontario receiving $48,000, did I hear that right?
Ms. Prince St-Amand: Yes.
Senator Poirier: That's federal funding. So does that mean that at month 13 the province's social programs kick in over and above that?
Ms. Prince St-Amand: Yes.
Senator Poirier: Is this in every province?
Ms. Prince St-Amand: Yes.
Senator Poirier: But in New Brunswick, a family of six who would be getting this amount I think would get zero from provincial funding because they would be over the amount that social assistance clients would get, a normal family.
Ms. Prince St-Amand: Social assistance is income-based, so you're right; you would have to do the specific calculation to see whether they would be eligible for social assistance. The federal income benefits they would be getting would be calculated into that calculation.
Senator Poirier: So the federal benefits they are getting is part of their income, which would be taken into consideration by the province? Do I understand that correctly?
Ms. Edlund: We have asked the provinces and territories to talk to us and clarify that, because my understanding of the Child Tax Benefit at its inception was not supposed to be something that was clawed back in the social assistance realm. So if that is true in all jurisdictions — and we need to verify that — that would mean they may be on provincial social assistance in New Brunswick and, in addition, would be getting this amount for the Child Tax Benefit and the GST rebate.
Senator Poirier: Is that just for refugees, or is that for any normal citizen living in that province, whether they are a refugee or not?
Ms. Edlund: Any citizen with children gets the Child Tax Benefit.
Senator Poirier: Then at that amount they would not be getting any social assistance, not at home. I know they wouldn't be.
The Chair: Thank you for the clarification.
Senator Nancy Ruth: You're the one ministry we always have hope and faith in regarding gender-based analysis, since you're compelled to do it. So when you tell me that you're keeping statistics on users of mental health programs, what is the gender breakout of those statistics? Are you doing it?
Part of what I'm talking about is I live in the same city that Senator Omidvar does, and we hear stories about Syrian women turning up at shelters and violence against women. We hear that they can't go to language training for a variety of reasons. One may be family and another may be because no daycare is provided. I want to know what your department is able to do to collect information around issues like that.
Mr. Kiziltan: I will describe how we prepare ourselves and how we collect information, and then I will turn to my colleague to describe some of the programming elements.
As I indicated, this is not the first time we are doing refugee programming. We have information. We have not only research but also performance measurement information.
As we prepared for the Syrian refugee movement, if you will, we monitored and collected information about refugees accessing our services. We know by gender who is accessing, let's say, our community connections programming, our language assessment. We are able to break down by gender language level, literacy, whether it's a high-level language, the needs, and then we are able to monitor the gaps and who is receiving services to meet those needs. So we understand the needs by gender. We can monitor the gaps by gender, and where we see gaps, we do programming course correction, if you will, to address those gaps.
Having said that, as Dawn mentioned at the beginning, when we look at the entire adult population having accessed one type of service already, when we look at all services except two — and I will mention them — the gender breakdown is about equal. So men and women are accessing services in the same fashion. The two services — this will not be a surprise for you — are employment-related services where men are slightly overrepresented in terms of their access to the service; and the other is language training — not language assessment but training. You touched on it. That's a situation where child-minding or transportation support are needed, and we have already identified some gaps and are addressing those gaps programming-wise to ensure that child-minding types of barriers are not there, especially for women, when accessing these much-needed services to later on enable them to reach the job market.
Senator Nancy Ruth: Would a service like that be paid out of the Syrian supplement to the language training services, or how does that get paid for?
Mr. Kiziltan: It will be paid with all settlement services available funds, but in this case, the population being Syrian refugees, it will be paid from the special allotment or funds available for Syrian refugees.
Senator Nancy Ruth: How do you get more money if you need it? Do you go to your minister and then beg Treasury Board?
Mr. Kiziltan: If we run out of money, yes. However, currently we have the funds necessary to address these needs. That's goes kind of hand-in-hand. As we identify the needs and see the gaps — we have a sophisticated system to identify those gaps — then we make investment decisions. This is going to sound too cliché, but we make evidence- based decisions so that we invest the monies where the highest needs are because we are confident that we are able to monitor those needs.
Corinne can explain maybe more in detail in terms of some of the programming.
Ms. Prince St-Amand: To add to what my colleague has said, the existing settlement programming across the country has programming focused particularly on women and girls, but I must say that our service provider organizations across Canada, with the Syrian movement, have had to up their game in this area. More of the settlement dollars are being put towards those kinds of projects.
In Toronto, Senator Ruth, the Rexdale Women's Centre is an expert in this area, providing culturally and linguistically appropriate counselling and support that helps newcomer women, particularly the Syrian refugees, get the relevant information so they understand the cycle of abuse. Staff are there to help them with safety plans, how to navigate the legal system, and how to obtain the right medical and social services.
These issues, as I said earlier, are very delicate. The department is putting in place more language circles for women so that they feel more comfortable to address these issues. They're not going to get to the language class without the appropriate child-minding and transportation assistance that is also inherent nationally across the settlement programming.
We're trying our best. We are aware of the issues particular to the Syrian cohort. That's one example of what we're doing in the province of Ontario. I can give other provincial examples if needed.
Ms. Edlund: We have been trying innovative new ways of delivering settlement services. Over 30 pilot projects have been in play and have served over 2,100 Syrian refugees to help them in the areas of informal language learning, community connections programming and also employment-related services. A quarter of the 2,100 were adult women. Half of the projects focused on families, including mothers and their children. And equally a half of the participants were under 25 years old. In this innovation space, we are trying to create that new programming for women, for children and youth.
[Translation]
Senator Gagné: I have a hypothetical question. I would like to draw on your experience over the past year.
If you had to plan the next wave of welcoming 30,000 refugees, based on your experience over the course of the previous year, what changes would you recommend when it comes to various programs for refugee resettlement?
[English]
Ms. Edlund: My initial answer would be that we were actually planning and implementing this project at the same time. I said earlier that with regard to the Vietnamese Boat People, they had about a year to plan before bringing people to Canada. We were planning and implementing almost simultaneously and adjusting at the same time. A little bit more time on the front end would have been helpful, even a couple of weeks. Look, you have to go with whatever you've got.
We also discovered that the information needs of our service provider organizations, the provinces and territories, the school boards, the communities was a difficult information gap for us to fill in a time-sensitive way, and that's still the case. Having more time and resources to put towards making sure the information we have is shared in a timely way to allow other partners in the system to plan for things and get ready for things would be important. I think those are the two major ones.
Bruce ran our national coordination centre for all the flights and all the activities.
Mr. Grundison: To go along with the planning, consider the pacing so there can be the appropriate welcome when people arrive. Over the winter we had a remarkable surge of arrivals, but it's anomalous. We don't normally have such a surge of vulnerable populations arriving. To pace them, to plan farther in advance and to have better pacing would be the recommendations.
[Translation]
Senator Gagné: The arrival of a large number of refugees in our communities, sometimes in small ones — and in my case, in the context of a francophone community struggling with limited resources and a shortage of qualified workers — surely has an impact on the school system.
Will the government thoroughly examine the impact of that large influx of refugees or will you let the province carry out the study?
[English]
Mr. Kiziltan: From the very beginning as we worked with the provinces, they were part of the puzzle in terms of knowing who is arriving and what the future looks like in terms of the challenges that they would be facing.
[Translation]
We were surprised with the profile of families. More than 50 per cent of the refugee population was under the age of 18. So in that respect, the provinces had to prepare well.
[English]
As Ms. Edlund said, when we started building a partnership with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, back in November, before even the first group arrived, we started — this is also I think one of the very first in SSHRC's history — a very early investment in research funding in the amount of $600,000 across Canada working with academics. We called researchers to look at specific topics ranging from LGBTQ integration all the way to looking at the sponsors and understanding how the sponsors are really working.
There are a lot of phenomena that need attention. One of them — and we have at least four or five research projects from Quebec to Saskatchewan — is looking at school needs. Are they being met? Where are the gaps? How are the students being integrated into schools? We already have quite a bit of programming in that domain.
In looking at the special effects of this sudden movement, especially the pace and the size of the volume impact, we were very aware, and we have already engaged quite a few people to bring us a little more intelligence, if you will, to address it more intelligently.
Senator Andreychuk: Following up on this question, all of the provincial-federal discussions are helpful, but that doesn't tell the story. It's really the people on the ground, especially with the surge, who had to take up the slack. It has impacted, as I've heard, individual schools, teachers and caregivers throughout the system.
When you say you're taking projects, et cetera, I think these have to be factored in, because these are all human costs to absorb within our system if we're going to face another surge. I hope the answer is that we pace, not surge. That's what I'm hearing from you, too. The problem of influx will always be there. It's how we manage it, how we anticipate it and how we handle it.
My particular question is about the Syrian supplement having been used. Can you define the Syrian supplement? Is it only for Syrian refugees or those who came through the surge, who we are told are not always Syrian refugees? And is it the first time we've used the modality of a supplement as opposed to negotiation with the federal and provincial governments?
Ms. Edlund: Let me unpack that a little bit for you, senator.
When we were doing the costings for the project back in November, we knew that we would need to set aside money for this very rapid influx of people for the income support side of things, on the resettlement assistance program and for our service providers who provide that programming, as well as money that we would need on the settlement side. Specific money was set aside. In our world, it is called grants and contributions. We've referred specifically to the Syrian supplement. That was on the settlement side, and it was in reference to the number of Syrians coming to Canada. By the calculation that we know, historically, resettled refugees use 39 months of settlement services, and that made sure we had the funding to address that 39 months of settlement services.
In this current fiscal year, the extra dollar amount on the table to top up the settlement dollars already out in the jurisdictions is $48.6 million. We don't have a guarantee that in a particular service provider organization, they have 10 Syrians and 5 non-Syrians and that the Syria top-up is only used for the 10 and not the 5. That's way too complicated. We would ask our service provider organizations to be keeping more than one set of books to keep track of the Syrians versus the non-Syrians.
We've tried to parcel out the money specifically where we know there's a high population of Syrian refugees in that community and a high demand for language services, for example, and we fund that service provider organization to be able to address those needs using the Syrian top-up, on top of the money they already had.
There's the $48.6 million this year on the settlement side, but there are many more hundreds of millions of dollars over the lifespan of the roughly six-year project. It depends on when the Syrian refugees arrive, when they need the income support to be in place and when they need the settlement services to be in place. I hope that's a little bit clearer.
Senator Andreychuk: I have just one supplementary on that, then. It was intended that the project was for the Syrians. You're saying you're now not discriminating. How confident can we be that you're not discriminating against other refugees that are coming into the system who aren't part of this Syrian surge?
Ms. Edlund: The settlement programming that we have available is available to all newcomers to Canada, including resettled refugees. They're not the only recipients of the program. Last year, over 300,000 people received settlement service and about 77,000 were refugees. That's on our regular base of funding, which is about $600 million. That's allocated using what's called a settlement allocation model. We look at a three-year rolling average of where newcomers are actually emigrating in Canada. There's additional weight given to a jurisdiction if it takes more refugees than another so that they get extra money in that allocation model.
That model is already there, the $600 million, give or take some, across the entire system for all newcomers, including refugees. Then we put the extra money on the table because of the extra Syrian arrivals.
Senator Andreychuk: Maybe we can get that in paper form.
The Chair: That would be welcome.
Senator Andreychuk: I know you're going to cut me off, but I want to put the question on the record and maybe they can answer it later.
We've been talking about PTSD as a problem, where in fact I think PTSD is one problem, whereas children growing up and families have their own development problems. Just moving and changing societies is another, and they could all be mental health problems. Perhaps we could get something on that. While I think PTSD is an important issue, I think it misses the point of family development and family disruption. I would hope that the mental health services are covering —
Ms. Edlund: The entire gamut —
Senator Andreychuk: — what Canadians need and what others in any change, flux and crisis need, rather than just identifying it as PTSD. I want some assurance that is the case.
Ms. Edlund: I think that's been a bit of shorthand, but it is mental health writ large. Give the life experiences people have had, we're expecting that there will be instances of PTSD. We know of some families who were hoarding food when they were resettled and were initially staying in hotels. We were providing three meals a day plus snacks. They had such a fear of food insecurity that they didn't know if the food would be there the next day or not. That's another form of the issue.
Then, of course, there is just the transition of moving out of your zone of comfort where you know the language and the people and your extended family members are there, to a completely new and different environment. There are a lot stressors and strains on all kinds of levels, including mental health, related to that.
Senator Ngo: I have two questions. First, I would like to follow up on Senator Ataullahjan's question.
With regard to the immigration loans, you mentioned that all the refugees who experienced difficulties in repayment can request a deferred payment up to 24 months or, at any time, they can claim a hardship, or something like that. Are they aware of these options in their own language?
The second question also goes back to the immigration loans. All the groups before us mentioned that the immigration loan for transportation is a real economic burden for refugees. We know that they create a high level of stress for them.
In one of our observations in our interim report we wondered whether it is possible to waive the transportation loan to them in order to alleviate this burden.
Ms. Edlund: In terms of whether or not they know about it in their own language, Bruce, maybe as an experienced visa officer who has processed refugees, can say what happens on the intake side when we're interviewing people initially and how we explain the loan and how it works.
I mentioned in my opening remarks that we made some changes to our website to bring that out more prominently so people would be aware of that. We need to look further into how that message has gotten to the resettlement assistance provider organizations and the settlement provider organizations to make sure they can help explain those things.
Mr. Grundison: In the context of being interviewed abroad, if the person does not speak English or French fluently, the officers and staff who are interviewing refugees before they leave for Canada do speak with them through interpreters. So they are provided interpretation in their own language of the terms of their travel to Canada and what's happening with them. After they arrive in Canada, they receive interpretation services as well.
I think what you're getting at is whether they are advised of the circumstances in a language so that they can understand the terms. I think they are.
The forms and official documentation are in English and French because that is the Canadian standard. But information is provided around that. As the time comes for them to start repaying, the service providers who are in Canada do provide information about that process.
Ms. Edlund: In relation to the transportation loans, I mentioned in my opening remarks that we did an evaluation of the transportation loan program in the fall of 2015. We are in the midst of preparing policy proposals for the minister and the government to consider as to how and whether the transportation loan process should be changed.
One part of that has already been changed. For the Syrian refugee movement, we paid for the immigration medical exams and pre-departure medical services for the first time. But a decision has been taken by the government in relation to the Interim Federal Health Program that as of April next year, all resettled refugees will have their immigration medical exam paid for and the pre-departure medical services. That's change has already been made and was modelled on what we did in the Syrian context.
Senator Ngo: The transportation loan is going to be waived, or are you in the process of studying it?
Ms. Edlund: We're in the process of developing the policy proposals, which by reason of cabinet confidence I'm not able to talk to you about. But the government certainly is seized with the matter and will be considering what can and should be done.
The Chair: I'm sure they will listen to our recommendation.
Senator Omidvar: If you can condense this in one short sentence, we would appreciate a written response. This is about the Syrian Family Links Initiative that the government launched earlier this year. How many Syrian family members were processed and arrived? Has an evaluation been conducted? What are the results? What are your department's plans to continue, expand or discontinue the program, given both the minister's and your statements that the focus on Syria is time-limited?
Ms. Edlund: I don't know that we have all the details to answer the question today. It was another program started as a result of the Syrian movement. Unfortunately, what we discovered is that there were far more family members who wanted to be sponsored than sponsors who came forward. That's an early finding.
I'm not sure how many cases have been processed and where they're at. We certainly haven't done an evaluation of that.
Senator Omidvar: Are you planning one?
Ms. Edlund: We're evaluating pretty much everything. We'll put it on the list.
The Chair: We want to thank you for appearing today. The last two and a half hours have contained fascinating new testimony for us, which is extremely helpful. I'm glad we're continuing and fulfilling our role as the chamber of sober second thought in taking a look at these issues and offering our observations and recommendations.
On behalf of the committee, I thank you for your public service. I don't think public servants are thanked enough. It is about public service.
Mr. Grundison, I know you've worked triple overtime in the work you have done, and I want to thank you, and all of you, for being here today.
(The committee adjourned.)