The delay between the time the file has reached the minister's office and then a decision was made in some cases has taken two to three years. There was a huge backlog. I understand the current minister has tried to catch up on the backlog. The people at International Transfers were muzzled and prevented from telling us when the file left the minister's office, I suspect because the minister was concerned and maybe a bit embarrassed, I hope, about how long it was taking to make essentially a simple decision.
On November 15th, 2010. See this statement in context.