Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses. In particular it's good to see some of my former colleagues from my time at ESDC and to thank them for their very good work on this file, particularly in reducing the backlog over the last year.
Before I begin more substantive questioning, I want to confirm the numbers that are in the Auditor General's report, in a response to a question on the Order Paper that I submitted to the Commons, and in the testimony that I heard from Madame Brazeau.
As I understand it, based on exhibit 6.6 of the Auditor General's report on page 21, in roughly December 2014 to January 2015 the number of appeals was in the neighbourhood of 10,000. According to a response to my Order Paper question, as of November 1 it was reduced to just under 6,000. In February of 2016 it was further reduced to just under 5,000. Also, if I heard Madame Brazeau's testimony correctly, the number of appeals is now at around 4,500.
Is that accurate?