OTTAWA — Settlement agencies say they are being forced by a shortage of funding to pause or scale back language classes for Syrian refugees.
In Toronto, no classes will be offered this summer by at least one major organization, while in Vancouver, more than 200 spots have been cut.
Agencies say while the federal government has topped up their budgets to handle the influx of Syrian refugees, the money isn't going far enough.
Mario Calla, the executive director of Toronto agency COSTI, tells a House of Commons committee that some refugees have only been in the classes for a few months and will now have to put their studies on hold.
Funding for settlement agencies is based on the number of people they served last year — a number that doesn't account for the Liberal push to resettle upwards of 25,000 Syrians in a matter of months.
The committee has already been told the cost of the Syrian program has been about $341 million to date, though final figures have yet to be released.
