Thank you.
Ms. Chow is not able to be here today, so I'm happy to be here.
Thank you to the minister for coming here today.
Certainly the announcements that you made have created quite a reaction and a lot of interest. I would say there's been a very big reaction to some of the numbers you've been putting forward, and certainly to the service cuts. So I have a number of questions.
I'd like to know what funding formula you used for the cuts in Ontario and how the decision was made concerning the cuts in Toronto—what funding formula was used to do them. I'd also like to know whether your department recommended those cuts or whether this was a political decision that was made.
And by contrast—because I think there is a huge impact in the community, and we're hearing this every day from immigrant-serving agencies and communities who are now struggling—one thing that's very troubling is how much is being spent on advertising in your department. I'd like to ask you how much money has been spent on advertising since you became the minister. My understanding is that there has been a dramatic increase in the advertising, while on the other hand we're facing very serious cuts in immigrant communities, particularly in Ontario and particularly in Toronto
If you could answer those questions, I'd appreciate it.
I also have other questions about some of the numbers around parents and grandparents. I'm sure you're familiar with Mr. Kurland, who is an immigration lawyer in Vancouver. Based on his access to information and the slashed rates for parents and grandparents, he estimates that for 140,000 applicants who are already in the queue, your new numbers could mean now that a parent could wait for 13 years for a visa to Canada, if they were to apply today. That's clearly unacceptable in terms of wait times.
Your government has said repeatedly that the backlog is going to be cleaned up, that we won't have these incredible wait times. And yet, based on access to information and people who are very knowledgeable about this issue, we're faced with dramatically different information. So I think there's a huge problem there.
Those are the questions I have, if you could respond.