Thank you, Chair. My question is to Mr. Richter.
Good afternoon, Mr. Richter.
Processing times and numbers are directly impacted by staffing levels at immigration sections. That's why, on March 4, 2009, in referring to the immigration staffing levels in Kiev, I asked Minister Kenney about Conservative government staffing cuts in Kiev. Unfortunately, he didn't answer the question, and instead stated that under the Conservative government immigration levels have increased from Ukraine. We'll deal with the accuracy or inaccuracy of that particular statement. However, soon afterwards there was a press release that he put out under the title, MP “misleads Ukrainian-Canadians about immigration from Ukraine” and “The facts”. This is a direct quote from there. He says, “Since mid-2006, there have been no reductions in staffing in the visa section of the Canadian embassy in Ukraine.”
Are you aware of any staffing cuts in the immigration section at the embassy in Kiev in 2006?