Citizenship and Immigration committee  The organization of a hearing entails ensuring the presence of a member, sometimes of an interpreter, of the appellant, of the appellant's lawyer and of the representative of the department. All of these individuals must be in one and the same place at the same time. The organization of all of that takes time, whereas, in the case of a written decision, one need only present the file to a member.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We don't publish a document that goes into that level of detail, but for our own internal purposes we look at the numbers. We can provide those numbers to the committee after this morning's session, by all means.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We'll do that.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes. Please forgive me, but I do not have here with me the numbers with regard to the percentage of cases that are channelled towards alternative dispute resolution.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I would ask my colleagues to respond to that question.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  In 2009-10, 4,423 sponsorship appeals were filed and 4,629 would have been finalized. The ones finalized would probably have come in this fiscal year.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The numbers I have go by fiscal year, I'm afraid, not by calendar year.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I do not have that information here. Perhaps Ms. Ross might have a sense.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I'm afraid I don't have that information here with me. Perhaps Ms. Ross could tell you something, just from a sense of the hearings.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We should be able to provide that information. I'm sure you can appreciate, though, that what happens before and what happens after.... Our focus must be on those files that are on our shelves. We have an obligation to deal with them.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  A few times.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, everyone. My name is Simon Coakeley. I am the Executive Director of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, or IRBC. I am the Board's Chief Operating Officer and I am responsible for the performance of the Board's adjudicative support, registry and corporate support services.

Official Languages committee  So far, in Toronto this year, there have been 15 requests for appeals in French.

Official Languages committee  The Governor in Council makes the appointments and decides who to appoint.

Official Languages committee  They take it into consideration…