May 31, 2013 - Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry

B.A. CYR - DR.EX. (WALSH) MAY 31, 2013
D.L. ROUSSIN - DR.EX. (WALSH)
S.E. TAYLOR - DR.EX. (WALSH)
D.M. KNOL - DR.EX. (WALSH)
1
families per year that come about 30,000 times.
The
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
population that we're working with is a large percentage
are aboriginal and we're seeing a lot more refugees, a
large percentage, so we're up at about 25 percent are
refugees.
The commonality that I would say that all these
families are experiencing, in my opinion, are very -- about
the effects of poverty and how the poverties affects
9
families.
And I think the biggest barrier that I've
10
11
experienced in my life working in this job, because I'm,
like Dilly, one of the co-founders, is the systemic
12
barriers.
Like, nobody is really talking about the
13
14
15
systemic barriers are the biggest barriers that our
families are experiencing.
MS. WALSH: And what are those?
16
MS. TAYLOR:
Systemic barriers is poverty, one,
17
18
19
discrimination, marginalized, what's it like to be
isolated, transportation, child care. You could go through
the whole gambit. And I've been in social services for 35
20
years and those issues haven't gone away.
In fact, it's
21
22
23
24
25
getting bigger and that gap is getting bigger between the
haves and the have-nots.
When you ask about funding, I have multiple
funders. I think at this point I have 14. I have federal
funding, I have provincial funding, I have child care
- 131 -