Obviously, yes, it could. As one panel said, either this one or the previous one, you either reduce the intake into the inventory or increase the output. Either way you're going to control this backlog.
The biggest issue I see coming, with what's going on in Canada now, is a very related point. Immigrants are making less money now than they did five and ten years ago, so the selection system is not what it needs to be. We're selecting immigrants, they're coming in, and they're having trouble settling and getting themselves established. Their incomes, based on their tax returns, are less than those of the Canadian-born control group.
So when I said to increase the pass mark from 67 points to 72 points, I was saying you'd get better quality applicants and fewer of them. We'd have the 250,000 or 265,000--I think there's pretty much a consensus in the country on that--although I know some parties want 300,000. But those are small things to worry about. The biggest issue is selecting immigrants who establish quickly and have good incomes. It's a win-win situation.
We're in a downward trend. Australia increased their pass mark, decreased their processing time, and decreased their backlog and inventory. They're processing in two years. This minister has alleged that we're going to get it down to one year, but that's not going to happen. I've been doing this for 22 years, and it will not happen. We're dealing with such massive numbers that for the minister to say we can process permanent resident applications--skilled workers or otherwise--in a year, I don't accept that as ever being true. Two years is not unacceptable.