Senator Cordy: Thank you very much, Senator Gold, for those statistics. I was not able to jot them all down, but I will certainly take note of them when I get your answer in print.

You are absolutely right: Our country gains so much from our international students. Canadian universities have increasingly relied upon attracting international students to study in Canada, who have provided our schools with much more diverse campuses and a learning culture that benefits all students. It also benefits the communities in which the universities are located.

Not surprisingly, Canada’s universities have maintained an excellent reputation internationally, and they attract students from all over the world.

This backlog — and I know you gave information this afternoon — does threaten all of that. As application backlogs continue, the fear is that potential international students may start to look elsewhere.

Senator Gold, does the government have a plan — you gave a bit of it earlier — to expedite the process for the start of the January 2023 term because that isn’t too far away? These are students who have applied well in advance, accounting for the 12 weeks stated processing time by IRCC, with some applying eight or nine months ago.