Allow me to clarify that while these estimates do not include additional resources for the citizenship program, we did announce additional resources in our economic action plan of 2013, which you will find in supplementary estimates (B). It allocates $44 million over two years to help us address the backlog in citizenship applications. That will be offset by an upward adjustment in citizenship fees, which have not been changed in 15 years. It costs us in the range of $650, if you can believe it, to process a citizenship application. But the current fee plus the privilege fee generates a total of $200 per application in revenue. We're running a $450 shortfall on every application that we process.
So the member is right. We're concerned as well about the backlog, and my department is working on an action plan to address it. To answer the question directly, no, the average wait time is not four years. Four years is the worst-case scenario for someone who's received a residency questionnaire, which is a more detailed analysis of whether they in fact meet the statutory residency requirements. The average processing time is less than half of that.