Well, you're right that it is a very serious situation. We want to deal with the refugees as quickly as possible. For starters, it's only fair to them, and it's why we are working to increase the number of sitting members.
It is a long process. We want to make sure we have the right individuals in these positions. There's no question that it's a very challenging job. It takes someone with special skills to be able to evaluate the situation and determine the legitimacy of the claim.
As you're aware, our refugee system is one that is much sought after, shall we say. Unfortunately, there are people who come here, apply for refugee status to get five years in Canada, and they then have to deal with the reality. These people recognize they are not legitimate refugees, but it's worth a shot, in their minds. We need people who can identify these people along the way to make sure the system isn't abused. But quite frankly, not everybody wants to do the job.
We have undertaken an extensive search for new candidates. We have raised the standards of these individuals. If they write the test, which they are required to do, they must actually pass it. It weeds out quite a few people. We are proceeding to fill those positions as quickly as we possibly can.
We're busy cutting the other backlog, and we don't want to see this one grow. It's not the way we manage things.
In terms of the cuts, it's unrelated. About $4.5 million of the decline is due to temporary funding that has been sunsetted.