The three-year delay obviously poses hardships on families. A lot happens in three years. The families who are here are working and participating in our economy, and that's how they are able to apply for sponsorship.
Again, I emphasize that the cost of living here is not the same as the cost of living in MTV, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Just as we don't.... When we bring in government-assisted refugees, they don't receive the same income in each province. It's based on the social assistance rates in that province, so I'm surprised that the minimum is a uniform national cut-off point.
Again, the family I was speaking of was able to do a sponsorship, but they had to wait until their income was raised to that level and then reapply. The previous speaker mentioned the cut-off rates, but they also depend obviously on the size of the family.
I do think they need to be regional. Our economies are regional. Our cost of living is regional, and our wages are regional.