Steinbach and Kleefeld are part of a study done by Brandon University into the experiences of refugees brought into Canada since last November as part of the federal government's plan to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees. Dr. Bill Ashton heads up the Rural Development Institute at BU. He says the Steinbach/Kleefeld area was one of five rural Manitoba areas that were studied to evaluate the settlement process and to understand the capacity of smaller communities to accept refugees. Dr. Ashton says there was some very positive feedback, but the study also found areas that need work.

"The organizations certainly continue to shine around the welcoming side, welcoming newcomers into their communities, these smaller centres. But there certainly were challenges. Language (training) and interpretation in the smaller centres like Dauphin and Steinbach, for instance, trying to be able to have interpretation capabilities from Congo, Ethiopia, Syria, that created, certainly, one of the challenges that was outstanding."

Another major issue is the lack of public transportation. And, because there is no local mosque, people needed help getting to Winnipeg to attend services. They also say there is a significant need for better access to jobs. Dr. Ashton says local organizations used their networking skills to work through some of these challenges.

"Community support organizations were stepping up, in some cases providing money for interpretation, in some cases trying to find an interpreter for a particular language capability that they didn't have, all the way to responding to refugees with challenges around transportation and volunteers would help give rides, for instance."

Dr. Ashton reiterates that refugees find Steinbach and Kleefeld to be very welcoming communities and the study concludes they have the capacity to handle more refugees.

You can read all five communities case studies through this link.