Public Safety committee  Sure, I'll be happy to do that. Mr. Chairman, our officers abroad are also charged with providing security screening advice to Citizenship and Immigration Canada regarding screening. Last year, we received 329,000 immigration-related security screening requests. The program focuses on visitors, and refugee claimants.

Public Safety committee  Okay, that's fine. Thank for that, and I look forward to your questions.

Public Safety committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm very pleased to be here today to speak to the role that CSIS plays abroad in support of Canada's national security interests. As I approach my first anniversary as the director of CSIS, I want to underscore how important it is that we have an informed and flowing dialogue about national security in Canada.

Public Safety committee  Yes, that seems like a lot of money. We have about 3,000 employees. We have some at our head office in Ottawa and others all across Canada. We have four regional offices and a number of district offices. We do actually have officers in Afghanistan and more than 30 people abroad.

Public Safety committee  Honestly, I think it is being done, but it is relatively rare. We used that method in security screening, for example, when we have to determine whether people are entitled to security clearance. We do not have enough employees in that area, but the number of requests keeps increasing.