According to an ATIP response, between August 2021 and June 2022, 9,512 DND applications were received. On that basis, what we just heard is that 4,498 files have now been processed. That's about half of the applications that have been received or confirmed by DND. We are now reaching that 18,000 number. We're nearing the end of them. That means there's no more room to add more people, when half of the files have not yet been processed.
On this basis, we understand that these individuals are people who served Canada, who put their lives at risk, who put their loved ones' lives at risk and who are now being hunted down. Does it make sense to the minister that the government has put in place this arbitrary cap of 18,000?
Where did this 18,000 cap come from, and does that reflect the actual number of people who served Canada?