Mr. Chairman, to supplement what the minister said, Nairobi is responsible for 19 countries of accreditation. In some cases, in order to get to a particular country you have to go through three airports. In some cases you cannot use the mail or courier services, because they don't exist. In many countries it's unlawful to use the mails to transfer passports over international borders. So it is extremely time-consuming. In some parts of the area that's covered by Nairobi, it's dangerous to travel.
I think everybody in Nairobi is doing the best they can. We review on a quarterly basis staff assignments in our missions around the world. While I don't think we have a lot of room left in Nairobi, if we come to the conclusion that we can do more with more bodies, we'll try to send people in on temporary duty.
But the issue in Nairobi is not really bodies and it's not really money. It's just 19 countries. The way Canada has divided up its diplomatic representation in that part of the world is not something that we control, so we're doing the best we can.
Also, we have a responsibility to protect program integrity. In many cases, the simple fact that somebody puts in an application doesn't mean that they're even distantly related. We have a responsibility to ensure that we check into these matters. Very often, because of the conditions I've just outlined, it takes a long time.