Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you. You both had long careers in immigration, and certainly some of the problems we have right now...I wouldn't say they could be attributed to you, but they could be attributed to how the immigration department is run. You appeared before this committee in your previous lives.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Did some of the information you gave to this committee in the past give direction to the committee to go in a way it should not have gone?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Mr. Chair, I think we're getting into previous ways of trying to deal with the backlog, with the point system and how it was moved around, and with how the department at that point in time tried to manipulate the situation. I think the point Mr. Telegdi is trying to bring to our attention is that the situation was manipulated.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  They can comment on past legislation.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Why don't you let Mr. Telegdi go the round of questions? You have people who want to ask questions. What's the problem?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  We need copies of their speeches.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  When will the deputy minister and the department come back to us with the information the minister and everybody else is supposed to supply? Would two weeks be appropriate, or three weeks? How long do they need?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  There were fewer permanent residents, the people with the PR card.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  There was a drop in applications in 2006 and there was a drop in applications in 2007.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Those are the statistics you provided to me.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Mr. Fadden, you said the minister issued 250,000—that was the range. So there were fewer people coming in than in other years.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Mr. Linklater, you provided me figures that showed there were fewer applications. You can go back to Mrs. Anastasia Chyz and she will provide you with the same figures. Nobody has disputed the figures I have put out—the parliamentary secretary in the House did not dispute them.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Are we taking extra time in Beijing?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  In Beijing, your applications have gone up by 48%, while the applications put in dropped by 41%. Can you explain that to me, please?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  This takes 48% longer than in previous years?