Mr. Speaker, I want to look at the issue of the waiting period. Originally the promise was that if one sponsors their spouse in Canada it would probably take no more than six months to process an application. Then the couple could get on with their lives, start a new family and perhaps have children.
Right now, instead of processing an application in six months, we have seen situations where it takes over a year, two years or sometimes even three years. This is partially caused by the lack of resources in the immigration department, security clearance, people needed to do the interviews and application forms that are done by paper and not electronic format. All in all, it is not the most efficient system.
I know my hon. colleague has a lot of experience on the immigration file. Has she noticed an extended waiting period in the last few years that she has been involved in immigration policies?