Thank you for the question.
I'll have to speak in generalities because it's a hypothetical case.
As a general rule, we allow the criminal justice system to take precedence over the immigration system. Depending on the nature of the crime, there may be serious criminal consequences, and we'll allow the criminal justice system to take place. We'll be ready at the end of that to begin removal processes. In some instances, we'll work with local law enforcement, depending on the nature of the crime, and we'll say that we can do removal quicker than they can in working through the criminal justice system.
Think of extortion, for example, and the cases that we've seen in British Columbia, Edmonton, Winnipeg and the Toronto area. We've been using our immigration tools to take individuals who have been involved in extortion and have removed them from the country. We've removed them fairly quickly.
It's hard to say though, in terms of the average time, because a lot depends on the circumstances. Are they going to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment? Will they ask for a delay for health reasons? Will they appeal our decision to the courts? Do they have a travel document? Is there an administrative deferral for removal in terms of where we take them?
There's no hard and fast rule, but I would say that we have a legal obligation to remove people as quickly as possible, and we do. We did about 23,000 removals last year. We prioritize those who are involved in criminality or what we call serious inadmissibilities. Our second tier is those who are failed refugee claimants, and then the third tier is everybody else.