Madam Chair, no, we have not sought or considered outside help. We have our own folks who crunch numbers, as the member referenced.
As I mentioned before, even if we estimate that several thousand per year may come forward and make applications under this bill if it is passed by Parliament, there can be a bit of a tendency at times to overestimate the numbers we may see. This is particularly so when we consider that since the first set of comprehensive remedies in 2009 were passed and up until around now, just under 20,000 persons have come forward who benefited from those previous amendments.
It's a good number, but I don't think anyone would say that it's a huge number by any stretch, when you consider that we receive 40,000 to 60,000 applications for proof of citizenship per year.