Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First of all, I'd like to thank our witnesses for being here today. I have worked for the minister as a staffer for two years, and I've been able to see at close quarters the dedication and commitment that the department applies to everything it does. I thank you for your hard work along that line.
Yes, Mr. Chair, I won't beat up on the opposition too much, but I know the claims have been that they wanted to clear the backlog. However, that has been opposed at every measure. In 2008, when this government introduced measures to put caps on the number of people who could apply through the federal skilled workers program, that was opposed vigorously.
Some time has now passed. That measure was necessary, and it appears to have been successful. What was the backlog when the measure was finally passed?