Public Accounts committee  That is correct. There is clemency available. There is a range of issues. The best one that I might cite is that application can be made to ministers for what is referred to as a humanitarian and compassionate decision to allow certain people to remain in Canada.

Public Accounts committee  Yes. We often see such situations as a result of the length of time it takes to process people through the full rigour and available recourse in the immigration system, where they will have been in Canada for many years before the final disposition is made. In that time you will see situations where people actually marry and raise families—

Public Accounts committee  I am not asking for any more money at the current time.

Public Accounts committee  We know, in the case of the “Hide and Seek” sample, that they have left. So in the case of that particular sample, and the approximately 50% that we identified as having left, they have left Canada.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, sir.

Public Accounts committee  I would say, in the near term, we need time to implement this plan. We're asked regularly if we have sufficient resources to pursue this problem or that problem. And I can say, without reservation, I have a wide range of problems that I have to address. This is one of the most significant.

Public Accounts committee  Well, I don't wish to be simplistic about it, but it's an increasingly uncertain and difficult world. Mexico's an interesting example. It's probably our highest-volume source country for refugee applicants. People who are facing difficult economic and social situations at home look to Canada as a country that really represents a wonderful opportunity, both for them and their family.

Public Accounts committee  I think it's a function of a couple of things. Number one, it's making the improvements that we want to make to the national case management system. I think the AG also highlighted a number of areas where we need to have better data. We've started that process. The more information we have, the more incisive and acute we're going to be in the decisions we make.

Public Accounts committee  If I may, Chair, I'll deal with “Hide and Seek” first. That was a project run out of our northern Ontario region last year. I cannot tell you today how much it cost, but I will undertake to provide the committee with that information. Basically it was a targeted sample of 45 cases involving criminality, and the findings of the pilot effort were twofold.

Public Accounts committee  The project to deploy armed officers is one that will span approximately ten years in total. At this stage we're into starting our third year, and we have about 720 officers deployed with weapons. The bulk of them are at the border, but some of them are inland officials. These would be officers who would deal with a lot of the cases we're responding to here.

Public Accounts committee  Certainly we have tried wherever possible to specify a timeline. A number of the things that I've spoken to today are complete, and when you get into issues such as negotiation with the provinces, as we've said to Mr. Christopherson, the vagaries of the ebb and flow of the negotiation and the fact that we are the demandeur in this matter make specifying a target date difficult for us.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Christopherson, for those questions. I can only comment to a certain extent. The project is essentially the responsibility of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The Canada Border Services Agency was a participant in it by virtue of the fact that we have front-line enforcement responsibilities for immigration issues.

Public Accounts committee  I have no idea how much. I could ask my colleague to provide that number.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, I can undertake to provide a response to the committee.

Public Accounts committee  I think three weeks is reasonable, Chair.