I want to home in on the Auditor General's report and specifically his examination of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
As is stated in the report under paragraph 3.39 on page 9, the Immigration and Refugee Board changed the appeals process last year to address the backlog of cases. I want to stress how important it is that we have timely processing of these cases. I've met many residents in my own constituency. I met one lady who is trying to have her husband sponsored so he can be with her and the family in Canada. They've waited for over two years from the point of filing the application, it being rejected, and then waiting for an appeal. It's very stressful for families to have to wait that long. It's not good for the children. I empathize with constituents who have spoken to me about cases such as this. It's quite heartbreaking sometimes to hear about the struggles they face without having the family united. This is not unique.
As identified through the report, these cases are part of the 11,000 outstanding immigration appeals. Each of these cases takes 18 months to process on average at this point, which is almost double the time it took—10 months in 2009—as reported in the audit at that point. The point I want to underscore is the importance of having that fair appeals process. As Canadians I believe it's very important for us as a country, not just for the appellants and their families to have that time to appeal, but for all of us to know there's a fair and thorough process.
I'm concerned with respect to the comment under paragraph 3.39. This might be outside the scope of the Auditor General's report, but I'm concerned that this backlog is simply being addressed by changing the appeals process, as noted in the report. I'm wondering if the Auditor General could comment on any further insights that might have been gathered with respect to this issue. I understand there is an appeal process. There are a number of appointees. To me it's not just a matter of ensuring those appointments are filled. If the process were being changed to address a lack of appointees, that to me is concerning. If the number of appointees is insufficient to address the backlog, then perhaps there needs to be a greater number of appointees.