Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank you for being here. Olivia Chow sends her regrets that she can't be with us this morning. I thank you for the opportunity.
I appreciate my friends in Buffalo. I actually live in Welland, so we live less than a stone's throw away from one another. I think those of us who live in the Niagara region understand the difficulties and the numbers. I recognize you're here today to tell us that, but I think those of us who live in Niagara already know it, especially if you happen to be on the Fort Erie side of the border.
You outlined the different classes in your presentation--I'm sorry I was a little late and missed you actually saying it, but I've read through it. You talked about a great number of folks who actually reside in this country regardless of what class they happen to come in as.
I look at, for instance, the temporary residence class. You say that 75% of temporary residence applications are from foreign nationals residing in this country who actually come back to Buffalo to apply to come back. Is it your sense that is an efficient way to do an application process for some? I'm assuming that the vast majority or a good number of those 75% don't live in Niagara and certainly don't live in Fort Erie and are travelling all the way to Buffalo from, I would imagine for the majority, somewhere in Ontario but maybe from beyond that, to actually be processed. Does that make sense and is that an efficient use of our ability, or is there another way to do that?