Right now it's taking 26 months to receive permanent residence from the spousal sponsorship. In the majority of cases either the person has a visitor's visa or is without status. In that case, when they go through the process with the emotional strength they put in the relationship, there is also a power dynamic because the abusers are using that as a control in the relationship. When the process takes that long, and if you are in the middle of the process and the sponsorship breaks down, the person stays without any other solution to continue an immigration process here in Canada.
There could be a Canadian baby, and the mother is facing deportation because the spousal sponsorship is over. There is another process, the humanitarian compassionate grounds, but it doesn't stop the deportation.
That's why we are saying the process is too long. When it started in the nineties with Prime Minister Paul Martin, it took eight months. Now it's taking 26 months. For us, that's a long process.