Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I too want to welcome the minister and his colleagues. I share the view of the minister that, as he put it, he is assisted by dedicated, hard-working people who are committed to the protection of our safety and security. We share that characterization.
Recently, Mr. Chairman, the CSIS deputy director, Jack Hooper, told a Senate committee that CSIS was able to screen only 10% of immigrants coming to Canada from the region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The quote was: “We're in a position to vet one-tenth of those.” When asked if that meant CSIS was not satisfied about the 90% of immigrants coming from that region, Mr. Hooper replied, “Correct.”
Shortly thereafter, Minister, in a letter to the Sun Media, you asserted that CSIS screens 100% of the immigrants referred to the intelligence agency. Can you explain the apparent contradiction between your remarks and those of Mr. Hooper?