I want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to be here and also to recognize the staff for the work you've been through. I'm sure your offices have been extremely taxed over the last few months in processing the number of refugees.
I have three questions that I'd like to pose. I'd like to go through all three of them first to make sure they're on the record, and then go back to them in order of priority, if I may.
What additional funds were set aside to offset any additional delays in processing the spousal sponsorship applications related to the recent transfer of 220 employees to processing Syrian refugee applications?
Number two, the minister mentioned earlier that $20 million is being transferred to the International Organization for Migration for overseas processing. Is that $20 million less for Canadian employees or contractors who will be going offshore, and what will be the downstream economic impact of that?
Third, in 2016 the immigration levels will be cut, so we'll be cutting 24,300 spots from the overall economic immigration stream. What is the predicted overall economic impact of this on the 2016 budget and future budgets?
I'll go back to the first question. What additional funds were set aside for the spousal sponsorship applications with that transfer of 220 employees?