We get best value for dollar, both in terms of results and for the Canadian taxpayer, when we go the mediation route. Any of the adversarial tools entail our going to the Federal Court of Appeal right up to the Supreme Court of Canada. We were in the Federal Court of Appeal on April 27 on the Prime Minister's agenda case, which dates back to 1998. You have to go there on major principles of law; otherwise it's very expensive.
So our approach has been, since I've come to the office, to take the three-C approach: cooperation, collaboration, and consultation. And I think you're starting to see the results, if you look at the number of complaints that have been closed. And I'd certainly like to point to the results, which are part of that approach. The last graph I provided to you, which is in blue and yellow, shows the results on the backlog just from last November, when we dedicated a team to the backlog—that is, cases prior to April 1, 2008. We've been meeting with both complainants and agencies to see how many of these we can resolve quickly. And in that amount of time, 30% of the backlog has been dealt with.
I know I've been criticized out there for not being tough, the watchdog that bites on a regular basis. But you know, subpoenas don't necessarily get you results; they get you attention.