Provincial support is calculated once a year based on the number of refugees having obtained positive determination during the previous year. Due to availability of data, positive claimants are assumed to have received a year’s worth of services in the year they were accepted. This approach simplifies reporting, avoids double counting and is directly related to the number of refugees (i.e. ODA increases when more refugees are accepted and vice-versa). On the other hand, federal support is based on expenditures and costs are considered in the year they occurred; an influx of refugees may only be reflected the following year, if the refugee was accepted at the end of the year.