That's right. If you recall, the Government of Canada has never met its targets. Years back, all parties were talking about 1% of the population, and that's never happened. It may never happen.
Without being too partisan, the previous government cut back on the overseas complement of staff, and that added to the backlog. It seems like the backlog is being used as a red herring. I don't want to play politics here. I'm trying to be as neutral as I can, and I don't want to dump on any one party. For 32 years I've met and dealt with many ministers of immigration who were well-meaning. Interestingly enough, I recall speaking with Walter McLean, who was a minister under Brian Mulroney. With 35,000 cases in the backlog in Canada, he announced a special program to land all those who were not criminals.
I agree with you, Mr. Rae, that the demand is there. I think we have to manage our immigration program overseas better.