Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank Councillor Villeneuve and Ms. Murphy for appearing before our committee today. I know that you and your colleague Vera LeFranc have been active on rescinding transportation loan programs. I'll be presenting your petition regarding the transportation loan program this week in the House of Commons.
I also want to commend you on your activism. It's partially because of it that the $25,000 for Syrian refugees was front and centre for the minister. I understand it's one of the reasons it was not charged.
I also want to make it clear that any privately sponsored Syrian refugee who was interviewed before March 1 was not charged the transportation loan, so your efforts have not been without fruition. They've paid good dividends. I also want to let you understand that the balance of the program is under review by the department. I know it is front and centre.
My question to you is in regard to your February correspondence with the committee. In that letter, you noted that Surrey has emerged as a primary destination for government-assisted refugees settling in B.C. I'm wondering if you might be able to share with this committee examples of refugees in Surrey, some of the first-hand accounts of the impact that resettlement has had on the repayment of their loans. I know you mentioned the Somalian refugee, but perhaps you could show how this affects people so that this committee has a better idea.