Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Departmental Plan 2019-2020

Minister’s message

I am pleased to present the 2019–2020 Departmental Plan for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Canada has always benefitted from having a highly effective system of managed immigration; indeed, newcomers play an important role in Canada’s prosperity as they help create jobs and strengthen our economy. This Departmental Plan, like the others before it, supports the overarching objective of maintaining an orderly immigration system that drives economic growth and innovation, helps reunite families, supports Canada’s humanitarian commitments, and protects Canadians.

While the initiatives outlined in the Departmental Plan support the ongoing improvement of Canada’s immigration system, we must also respond to emerging and evolving challenges, including the increased number of asylum claimants and irregular immigration. We will continue working with federal, provincial and global partners to effectively address issues of concern for Canadians.

Based on extensive consultations and the evidence that shows the economic and social benefits of immigration in Canada, we have put forward a multi-year immigration levels plan to gradually and responsibly increase permanent resident admissions to 350,000 by 2021. With most of this increase in the economic programs, the plan will contribute to the country’s economy and address demographic challenges by adding skilled workers to our work force through sustained growth in admissions. The immigration levels plan also continues to support faster family reunification through expanded admissions and increase refugee protection, particularly by growing the Privately Sponsored Refugee Program to respond to Canadians’ generosity. The Program, which is celebrating this year its 40th anniversary, has contributed to transforming the lives of more than 327,000 privately sponsored refugees since its creation.

A higher demand for IRCC’s services, including the number of applications for temporary resident visas from around the world that have more than doubled since 2013, will require an innovative approach to further improve our processing capacity and improve the client service experience. Investments in new technologies, including the use of biometrics, will lead to the creation of simplified and more efficient systems and protect Canadians while facilitating legitimate travel.

The Government of Canada will continue to build on the success of targeted and innovative programming, such as the Global Skills Strategy, the Start-up Visa Program and the Atlantic Immigration Pilot. By helping immigrants launch start-ups across the country and by assisting designated Atlantic businesses in appealing to international graduates and skilled foreign workers to fill job vacancies, Canada will attract and retain more people from around the world with unique skill sets.

Promoting growth of smaller communities across the country and enabling them to enhance their economic, social and demographic vitality is another key priority for the government. The newly created Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is an innovative economic immigration pilot aimed at testing new, community-driven approaches to address the diverse labour market needs of smaller communities. This pilot complements other economic immigration initiatives and supports our commitment to promote the vitality of Francophone communities outside Quebec. Francophone immigration throughout Canada remains a priority in 2019–2020. The Department is working with provincial and territorial partners to further improve services for Francophone newcomers who settle outside of Quebec. This collaboration aims to support achieving a target of 4.4% for Francophone immigration outside the province of Quebec by 2023.

In collaboration with service provider organizations, IRCC will continue to deliver high-quality settlement services across the country and maintain a focus on increasing effectiveness to ensure immigrants reach a higher level of autonomy and integrate faster. These services must also meet the needs of all newcomers, including through targeted programming focusing on vulnerable newcomer populations. For example, our recently announced Visible Minority Newcomer Women Pilot aims to improve the employment and career advancement of visible minority newcomer women in Canada by addressing the barriers they may face.

In keeping with Canada’s humanitarian tradition and leadership on the world stage, IRCC will proudly move forward with the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact on Migration. I firmly believe that the recently adopted Global Compact on Migration is an opportunity for the international community to harness the contributions of newcomers, promote successful integration, and address shared challenges in a coordinated and collaborative way.

Our objectives for the coming year are ambitious, and I look forward to seeing them come to fruition. I am confident that our efforts in 2019–2020 will continue to help shape a diverse, progressive and successful society for all Canadians.

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The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Plans at a glance and operating context

Departmental Priorities

The following are Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) priorities for 2019–2020.

1. Implementing Increases in Permanent Resident Admissions

The Department aims to deliver on increasing immigration targets as outlined in the most recently amended three-year plan, and in a manner that responsibly manages incremental year-over-year growth in the levels of permanent resident admissions. The plan is designed to contribute to an immigration system that strengthens the Canadian middle class through economic growth, supporting diversity and helping to build vibrant, dynamic and inclusive communities. It also aims to maintain border integrity to preserve the safety and security of Canadians, while pursuing Canada’s leadership in international refugee resettlement for the most vulnerable populations.

2. Keeping up with demand for visitors, international students and other temporary resident admissions

With increasing numbers of visitors, business travellers, international students and temporary foreign workers choosing to come to Canada, the Department will continue to make the necessary investments, such as the expansion of biometrics, that facilitate travel of eligible and legitimate temporary residents while ensuring the safety and security of Canadians. In addition, the Department will review the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) expansion program. These efforts are also in line with mandate letter commitments to improve client service delivery and application processing times.

3. Settlement Services

The Department will emphasize improvements to service delivery based on documented outcomes. It will implement a number of innovative practices and ensure priorities are delivered through targeted new and enhanced settlement programming. The Department will continue to work through service provider organizations to deliver high-quality settlement services based on a shared national vision. This will be done by advancing initiatives such as those in support of the Action Plan for Official Languages, by lowering barriers to employment for visible minority newcomer women, by further reducing language training wait lists, and by enhancing programming in support of vulnerable clients, newcomer entrepreneurs and deeper community connections. Improvements will continue to take into account the results of the first annual Newcomers Surveys, which surveyed over 50,000 newcomers, both settlement service clients and non-clients.

4. Asylum

As part of our ongoing commitment to upholding international Conventions which have been incorporated into Canada’s laws, the Department will continue to manage its asylum program in a manner that takes into account the needs of those seeking protection in Canada while ensuring the health and safety of Canadians. This will be accomplished through continued work with partner organizations, including through the new Asylum System Management Board to increase the productivity and efficiency of the asylum system. As well, the Department will continue working with partners such as the Canada Border Services Agency, Public Safety Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the provinces to manage irregular migration to Canada (individuals crossing the Canada-U.S. land border between designated ports of entry), and to ensure measures are in place to deliver an effective and coordinated response.

Operating Context

Annually, through its key lines of business, IRCC interacts with millions of individuals, including those seeking temporary or permanent resident entry into Canada and subsequently settling into Canadian society, and those pursuing Canadian citizenship. The Department is also responsible for passport services in support of individuals seeking to obtain or renew a Canadian passport or other travel document such as a certificate of identity or a refugee travel document.

IRCC works to facilitate the legitimate entry of visitors, economic immigrants, sponsored family members and those seeking protection in Canada, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians. The Department balances competing pressures, notably: responding to domestic labour market demands and an increasingly mobile work force; contributing to overall economic growth; and addressing efforts to streamline service delivery and enhance the client experience, while responding to increasingly complex safety and security challenges. In addition, to ensure the successful integration of newcomers into the Canadian economy and society, IRCC engages regularly and extensively with federal partners, provinces and territories, as well as other stakeholders on a variety of key immigration-related topics, such as immigration levels planning, economic immigration, and settlement and integration of newcomers, including refugees and protected persons.

IRCC has established a wide-ranging transformation agenda that is based on optimizing current operations and building a foundation that sustains a new culture and way of working. This transformation is aimed at augmenting the client experience by improving processing times, generating simpler and clearer processes and reducing inventories.

In recent years, the Department has experienced significant increases in some of its most important lines of business as many around the world seek to enter Canada temporarily or permanently, and as increasing numbers of eligible permanent residents seek to become Canadian citizens. IRCC’s challenge is to effectively manage these requests to enter and remain in Canada, while working with stakeholders to ensure that newcomers have the best opportunities to succeed and that the Canadian economy and society reap the benefits of newcomer success.

For more information on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s plans, priorities and planned results, see the “Planned results” section of this report.

Planned results: what we want to achieve this year and beyond

Core Responsibilities

Core Responsibility 1: Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers

Description

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) facilitates the entry of migrants who wish to come to Canada temporarily, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians. The Department works with partners to verify that individuals meet admissibility requirements. IRCC processes visas, electronic travel authorizations, and work and study permits for tourists, business travellers, international students and temporary workers, whose spending and presence in Canada benefit the economy.

Planning highlights

Departmental Result 1: Entry to Canada of eligible visitors, international students and temporary workers is facilitated

Supporting the Efficient Entry of Visitors to Canada

A key priority for the Department remains the management of increased temporary resident application volumes and advancement of transformational initiatives. In support of biometrics expansion, in 2018–2019, the Department opened 17 new Visa Application Centres (VACs) in numerous countries in Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe and Africa, with additional plans to further expand its VAC network in 2019–2020. Currently, over 97% of applicants can access a VAC in their home country.

The Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) continues to manage visa-exempt travellers who either fly to or transit through a Canadian airport, facilitating the entry of low-risk travellers. IRCC introduced expanded eTA eligibility to low-risk nationals of Brazil, Bulgaria and Romania on May 1, 2017. A full visa exemption was introduced for nationals of Bulgaria and Romania on December 1, 2017, meaning low-risk nationals of Brazil are the only group currently eligible under eTA expansion at this time. IRCC is currently reviewing the performance of the eTA expansion initiative in meeting its facilitation and program integrity objectives.

With unprecedented growth in the number of temporary residents in Canada, the Department continues to work toward developing new tools and leaner processes to ensure its ability to maintain program integrity as well as processing standards. The Department will continue to advance improvements to its case management system, along with other efforts such as workload distribution, automated processing, e-applications and the application of advanced analytics to improve processing efficiency while also managing risks.

Facilitating the Entry of Visitors While Ensuring Safety

IRCC is committed to strengthening Canada’s immigration system by effectively screening travellers’ identities to ensure the safety and security of Canadians. As of December 31, 2018, all persons, unless exempted, must provide their biometrics in support of an application or request for a visitor visa, study or work permit, temporary resident permit or permanent residency. This information provides a reliable and accurate means of validating and verifying identity while facilitating the entry of bona fide travellers.

In 2018–2019, IRCC initiated an Evaluation of Biometrics and the Canada/United States Immigration Information Sharing initiative, due to be completed in early 2019–2020. Moving forward, IRCC will continue to implement the biometrics collection program which will help to balance travel facilitation with security imperatives. Specifically, in 2019–2020, IRCC will continue to increase accessibility to biometrics services with the establishment of in-Canada service delivery and enhanced VAC capacity.

In support of the Minister’s mandate letter commitment, IRCC will complete its review of the visa policy framework, including application of the framework to the transit of passengers through Canada, in a way that promotes economic growth while ensuring program integrity.

Departmental Result 2: Facilitation of temporary entry helps to generate economic benefits

International Students

International students generate significant innovation and growth in the Canadian education sector, contributing more than $15.5 billion to the Canadian economy in 2016.^{Footnote 7} Over the last decade, the immigration focus has shifted to view international students not just as temporary residents, but also as a source of temporary workers and a potential pool of permanent residents. Continuing in 2019–2020, the Department will seek to gather information and work with partners such as universities to improve its understanding of “study to immigration” pathways for international students.

International Experience Canada Program

In 2019–2020, IRCC will continue to promote the International Experience Canada (IEC) program to Canadian and international youth and key stakeholders to ensure that eligible youth are aware of, and can benefit from, the work and travel opportunities that the Government of Canada makes possible through its youth mobility arrangements. IRCC will continue to engage with countries with whom Canada has existing youth mobility arrangements to ensure that Canadian youth are provided with the same opportunities that foreign youth have when coming to Canada. IRCC will also identify new opportunities for Canadian youth by engaging with existing and potential stakeholder partners, including assessing the viability of new country partners. In addition, IRCC will continue to conduct program research and analysis to inform future policy and program improvements; this is also expected to be informed by an evaluation of the IEC program.

Global Skills Strategy

Launched in June 2017 to attract top global talent to Canada, the Global Skills Strategy introduced short-term work permit exemptions for certain highly skilled workers and faster processing for eligible applicants. In 2019–2020, the Department will continue to actively engage and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure that Canadian companies can continue to access the talent they need to scale up and grow.

Temporary Foreign Workers

IRCC will continue to fulfil the Minister’s mandate letter commitments of working with Employment and Social Development Canada to improve the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to better meet the needs of Canadian workers and employers. Reflecting a Budget 2018 commitment to ensure that migrant workers are aware of their rights and protected from abuse, in 2019–2020, the Department will advance regulations to strengthen protection for foreign workers. In addition, in response to recommendations in the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities’ study of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the Department has provided 2,000 new immigration spaces to provinces and territories to bring intermediate skilled workers into sectors experiencing chronic labour market shortages through their Provincial Nominee Programs. Implementation of this initiative, as well as the monitoring of its impact, will be a key departmental activity for the 2019–2020 fiscal year.

Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers

Funding for this core responsibility is used to facilitate the entry of migrants who wish to come to Canada temporarily, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians.

To do this, IRCC works with federal government partners to verify that individuals meet admissibility requirements. The Department also processes visas, eTAs, and work and study permits for tourists, business travellers, international students and temporary workers, whose spending and presence in Canada benefit the economy.

Further details can be found in the “Spending and human resources” section of this report.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Core Responsibility 2: Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration

Description

IRCC facilitates the admission and economic and social integration of immigrants and refugees who intend to stay in Canada permanently, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians. The Department selects economic immigrant applicants to contribute to the Canadian economy, processes family member applicants to reunite families, and processes refugee and protected person applicants to provide a safe haven for those facing persecution. IRCC works with partners to verify that individuals meet admissibility requirements before they enter Canada. In order to support immigrants and refugees in integrating into Canadian society, IRCC offers a variety of settlement support services through a network of service providers.

Planning highlights

Departmental Result 3: Potential permanent residents are selected for immigration to Canada

Multi-year immigration levels plan

To support the Minister’s mandate letter commitment, IRCC announced in fall 2018 an updated multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019–2021. The new levels plan commits to responsibly increase permanent resident admissions to 350,000 in 2021, towards 1% of Canada’s population. Immigration will continue to drive long-term Canadian interests, including supporting population growth (immigration will account for 80% of Canada’s population growth in 2031) and maintaining labour force growth as the worker-to-retiree ratio continues to decline.

The majority of the increase from 2019–2021 will be dedicated to selecting highly skilled economic immigrants through the Express Entry application management system and the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), enabling the Department to continue to attract the best and brightest candidates to Canada.

The focus on increasing economic immigration will contribute to Canada’s economic growth, in particular that of the middle class, and strengthen Canada’s competitiveness in the global economy. IRCC will work closely with partners, such as industry associations under the Start-up Visa Program and provinces and territories through the PNP to ensure that the implementation of the new multi-year levels plan supports Canada’s priorities on innovation, economic growth and diversity. Economic immigrant applicants also bring their family members, which increases the likelihood of successful integration and retention in Canada. Spouses and dependants of principal applicants usually represent slightly more than half of all immigrants admitted under economic immigration programs.

The planned growth in the immigration levels plan also features an increase in refugee resettlement spaces, particularly in the Privately Sponsored Refugee Program in order to meet the demand of Canadians wishing to sponsor refugees. This represents a sustained commitment and reinforces Canada’s positive contribution to refugee protection internationally. In addition, Canada’s multi-year commitments to government-assisted refugees (GARs) currently focus on Africa and the Middle East, and are based on where needs are highest in the world. In recognition of their unique vulnerabilities, Budget 2018 included a commitment to resettle 1,000 additional vulnerable women and girls as GARs by December 31, 2019. Accordingly, Canada will resettle 200 vulnerable women and girls in 2018 and 800 in 2019.^{Footnote 9}

On July 31, 2018, IRCC introduced a new method to provide applicants with more accurate projections for processing times of permanent resident applicants. In 2019–2020, IRCC will continue to improve client service by further integrating and modernizing its operations to more efficiently process immigration applications. Moreover, with anticipated increases in application volumes, the Department is also undertaking various information technology and human resources measures to mitigate against possible operational risks associated with these higher volumes. This includes implementing a project management approach that considers key requirements around information technology and accommodation.

Family Reunification: Parents and Grandparents

In 2019, more individuals will be able to sponsor their parents and grandparents as the Department will accept up to 20,000 new sponsorship applications for the Parents and Grandparents Program—four times the number of applications IRCC accepted in 2015.

The Government of Canada has also listened to and addressed concerns from clients and stakeholders about the previous randomized intake process, and has taken steps to provide an electronic first-in-first-served approach. On January 28, 2019 the Department implemented the new process whereby potential sponsors had an opportunity to submit their interest-to-sponsor forms online. The Department will then invite eligible sponsors to submit a complete application in the order that their interest-to-sponsor form was received. The Department will review this new intake process and take client feedback into consideration in order to make improvements as needed.

Francophone immigration

In 2019–2020, the Department will continue to focus on achieving its target of 4.4% for Francophone immigration outside of the province of Quebec by 2023. Following the 2017 Evaluation of the Immigration to Official Language Minority Communities Initiative, a Francophone Immigration Policy Hub was created in 2018–2019. Also, changes to the Express Entry application management system in June 2017 included awarding additional points to candidates with strong French language skills. The Department launched a new overarching Francophone immigration strategy, which will be implemented over the next four years. The strategy includes continued international promotion; communication and recruitment efforts to leverage governmental, non-governmental and employment-related partners in support of attracting, integrating and retaining French-speaking newcomers; and building the capacity of Francophone and Acadian communities. In addition, the Department will continue to collaborate with provincial and territorial partners to implement the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Action Plan for Increasing Francophone Immigration Outside Quebec.

Asylum and irregular migration

In 2019–2020, the Department will continue to work with partners to ensure that asylum claimants receive fair and timely protection decisions at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) and that the integrity of the in-Canada asylum system is maintained. The Department will continue to conduct health screening to help protect public health and safety in Canada, and will continue to provide asylum claimants, resettled refugees and other eligible beneficiaries with health-care coverage through the Interim Federal Health Program, which was restored in 2016.

In 2018, asylum claimants continued to enter Canada through regular points of entry as well as between designated points of entry. IRCC maintains coordinated responses with various federal partners to ensure that border security and integrity is respected, while making sure that all migrants are treated fairly and that protection is in accordance with Canadian and international law. Those eligible for and in need of protection will receive it through a fair hearing at the IRB, and those who are not will be removed by the Canada Border Services Agency. Budget 2018 established an investment of $173.2 million over two years toward managing irregular migration by ensuring security at the border and faster processing of asylum claims. Funding is being used to support intake of new asylum claims, front-end security screening procedures, eligibility processing, review and interventions at the IRB, removal of unsuccessful claimants, and detention and removal of those who pose a risk to the safety and security of Canadians. Ministerial consultations that took place in 2018, along with the June 2018 Report of the Independent Review of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, have informed ongoing efforts to increase the productivity and efficiency of the asylum system. Further efforts will build on the success of previous actions that have already resulted in a 50% increase in the number of claims finalized at the IRB in fiscal year 2017–2018 as compared to fiscal year 2016–2017.

Canada will continue to engage with domestic and international partners to manage increasing numbers of claims in regular and irregular streams, including from individuals and groups who have crossed the border into Canada between designated points of entry. IRCC will continue to advance policy with respect to Canada-U.S. relations, identify deterrence measures and strategies for reducing irregular border crossings, and conduct contingency planning.

Program integrity for immigration consultant representatives

The Department will continue to advance measures to strengthen program integrity and to protect clients and, more broadly, the public, from unethical practices in the immigration and citizenship consultant industry. IRCC will also continue to review the information available to clients through our website and forms, with a view to ensuring clear messaging on the importance of using only authorized representatives.

International engagement and leadership

IRCC will continue to engage with international partners, such as the UNHCR, the Migration Five, the Regional Conference on Migration and the International Organization for Migration, to advance Canada’s priorities on migration-related issues, which includes the protection of refugees, in particular vulnerable women and children. In 2019, Canada will be appointed chair of the Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees for a one-year term, providing an opportunity to lead and direct discussions on pertinent international migration issues. Canada will also continue to work closely with the United States in addressing shared border challenges.

The Department will engage in and pursue training opportunities with countries that are working toward establishing their own community-based refugee sponsorship programs. This will include leading discussions at the international level through the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative, with the goal of increasing refugee protection spaces around the world and bolstering global responsibility sharing. Since its launch in late 2016, the initiative has assisted with the creation of new sponsorship programs or pilots in Argentina, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany and the United Kingdom by bringing governments and civil society representatives together in designing mechanisms that adapt Canada’s model to local conditions.

IRCC will move forward with the Global Compact for Migration. The Department will work with counterparts in other countries and international organizations to advance the objectives of the Compact. IRCC will also work with key bilateral partners on migration-related capacity building initiatives through the Migration Policy Development Program.

IRCC is also supporting the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees and the development of the Compact’s three-year Strategy on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways. The Strategy is being developed with the objectives of increasing the global pool of resettlement places, encouraging more countries to participate in global resettlement efforts, and increasing access to complementary pathways for refugees.

Departmental Result 4: Permanent residents are welcomed and benefit from settlement supports

Settlement programming

In 2019–2020, following the completion of the intake process of the resettlement and settlement programs’ call for proposals launched in early 2019, work will commence to have new agreements in place by April 1, 2020.

The Department continues to advance Francophone immigration initiatives with the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023: Investing in Our Future, led by Canadian Heritage. By developing a Francophone integration pathway, the Department is reinforcing settlement services for French-speaking immigrants, from pre-arrival to citizenship. This approach includes improved language training, building the capacity of the Francophone settlement sector, implementing the Welcoming Communities Initiative to support targeted communities, and creating an environment in which French-speaking newcomers will feel welcomed, integrated and established.

The Department will continue to collaborate with service provider organizations (SPOs) to ensure the delivery of quality settlement services and improve communities’ ability to welcome newcomers. For example, in 2019, the Department plans to meet with domestic and pre-arrival SPOs and the four Atlantic provinces to ensure consistency and quality delivery of settlement supports for Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) candidates.

The Department will fully implement Canada Connects, which was launched in 2018 and which will become a permanent part of the Settlement Program. It is expected that this initiative will increase connections between newcomers, long-time Canadians and established immigrants by facilitating intercultural exchange and language learning.

Budget 2018 committed $31.9 million over three years to support employment-related programming for the Visible Minority Newcomer Women pilot. Launched in conjunction with the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, the pilot will aim to support the employment and career advancement of visible minority newcomer women in Canada (outside of Quebec).

In 2017, the Government of Canada launched It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence. Under this strategy, IRCC received $1.5 million in funding over five years to further enhance the Settlement Program. The Department will continue to fund targeted services for newcomer women and youth, including place-based interventions that address isolation and provide mental health supports, as well as training for front-line settlement workers to identify abuse and make appropriate referrals.

A rigorous outcomes measurement approach has been established to analyze data to support evidence-based management and program performance measurement. IRCC will continue to collect outcome information on settlement program clients and non-clients through the annual Settlement Client Outcomes Survey and Newcomer Outcomes Survey.^{Footnote 14} The findings are a key source of outcome information which will inform program improvements and direction-setting. Settlement service usage is being linked to the longitudinal immigration tax database to allow for a more direct assessment of long-term impacts of services on the economic performance of clients and non-clients. Collecting this comprehensive and timely information on service usage and outcomes coupled with periodic program evaluations will allow the Department to more accurately demonstrate how services are impacting and helping immigrants integrate successfully.

Experimentation

In 2019–2021, through Service Delivery Improvement funding, the Department will test the effectiveness of incentive-based funding models for improving the performance of settlement SPOs in the area of language acquisition.

Support for refugees

The Department provides support to resettled refugees through the Resettlement Assistance Program—including income support, and immediate and essential services—to help meet their resettlement and integration needs. These supports are delivered via a private sponsor or through a combination of sources. In 2019–2020, the Department will continue to work with SPOs and sponsors to ensure the settlement needs of all resettled refugees are being met effectively and efficiently so that they can become self-sufficient faster.

Efforts to meet specific needs of particularly vulnerable refugee groups, such as survivors of Daesh,^{Footnote 15} “women at risk” and LGBTIQ2 (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and two-spirited) refugees, will continue to be a priority. Information collected will support the development of priorities for future years’ resettlement initiatives and will ensure that the needs of these vulnerable newcomer populations are being met and supported in future programming as needed.

In 2019–2020, the Department will also continue to develop a strategy to increase sponsor uptake of available Blended Visa Office-Referred levels admission space, in collaboration with key stakeholders such as with Sponsorship Agreement Holders and the UNHCR.

Departmental Result 5: Immigrants and refugees achieve economic independence and contribute to labour force growth

IRCC recognizes the important role immigration has on strengthening Canada’s economy. The 2019–2021 levels plan reflects the Department’s focus on increasing economic immigrant admissions to help Canadian businesses grow and to keep Canada competitive in a global economy. Through selection processes such as the Express Entry system and the PNP, and through specific efforts like the AIP and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, IRCC continues to attract skilled economic immigrants to meet labour needs. The Department is also committed to retaining skilled newcomers and international graduates by closely collaborating with provinces and territories and ensuring that those who are welcomed to Canada not only contribute economically to the region, but also integrate into the Canadian social fabric. Building on the success of these selection programs, IRCC will continue to work with regions to spread the benefits of immigration more broadly across Canada.

The December 2018 release by Statistics Canada of the Canadian Immigrant Labour Market: Recent Trends from 2006 to 2017 report indicates that there has been a decrease in the employment rate gap between immigrants and Canadian-born workers.^{Footnote 18} The unemployment rate for core-aged immigrants dropped to 6.4% in 2017, which is the lowest rate since 2006.^{Footnote 19} Efforts are under way to ensure that employment gaps are further reduced by continuing to focus on innovative settlement programs focusing on labour market and employment participation.

Approximately 70% of newcomers are employed with over half of all newcomers being in the middle income range or higher. Also, a 2017 national evaluation of the PNP found that 92% of principal applicants had established economically after one year in Canada.^{Footnote 20} Further, the evaluation found very low rates of social assistance use across the years suggesting that provincial nominees established and maintained economic independence early.

In 2019–2020, IRCC will continue to explore additional pathways for Canada to attract and retain global talent to meet local labour market needs, including practices that may support international students’ outcomes while they are in school and as they transition into the labour market and permanent residency. In particular, the Department is exploring how its economic programs can be used as pathways to permanent residence for skilled refugees. Refining and improving settlement services to permanent residents, including refugees, to help them integrate into Canada’s economy, will continue to be a priority.

Departmental Result 6: Immigrants and refugees feel part of and participate in Canadian society

Canada’s strength lies in its diversity and its focus on inclusion and societal cohesion. IRCC recognizes that partnerships across governments and with stakeholders and employers—along with the goodwill of Canadians—form the underpinning of a society in which newcomers are welcome and can thrive. As such, strengthening settlement services based on a shared national vision remains one of the Department’s top priorities. As outlined by the Minister at the National Settlement Council, IRCC will continue to collaborate with provinces and territories to strengthen outcome measurement and deliver effective and coordinated services to newcomers.

IRCC will also continue its work with SPOs and local communities to ensure that immigrants and refugees integrate successfully and become participating members of society. A survey of Syrian refugees shows that employment rates are increasing, with over half of the respondents reporting that they are currently employed (summer 2018). Syrian survey respondents also indicated that they are creating social networks, feel welcomed and have a strong sense of belonging to Canada and their communities. Data also indicates that three-quarters of adult Syrian refugees have accessed IRCC-funded language training since arriving. However, some challenges exist, such as inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints, low relative confidence in the health-care system, and access to mental health supports. Monitoring GARs to get a sense of how they are integrating and able to participate in Canadian society will continue to be a priority.

Additional efforts will be made to match clients with established newcomers to provide opportunities for cross-cultural activities and one on one exchanges that build language skills needed for everyday interactions. Matching activities have been shown to support the reciprocal relationship of integration by fostering inter-cultural awareness and acceptance, supporting volunteers to better understand the contributions of immigrants and the challenges they face in Canada and helping immigrants and refugees build inclusive connections and community. Canada’s future can also be strengthened by building relationships of respect and solidarity between Indigenous peoples and newcomers. Linkages between newcomers and Indigenous community groups will inform better programming and a common understanding of cultures.

Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration

Between 2019–2020 and 2021–2022, the majority of funding for this core responsibility—between approximately $1.483 billion and $1.775 billion (80% and 83% of annual funding)—will be provided through grants and contributions funding. This consists of funding for settlement support and re-settlement assistance services and also includes funding to support provinces and municipalities for temporary housing of asylum claimants as well as the grant for the Canada-Quebec Accord on Immigration. The remainder of funds during this time frame—ranging between about $367 million and $368 million (17% and 20% of annual funding)—will be for IRCC operational requirements. As part of these operational funds, a portion (between approximately $79 million and $86 million during this time frame) is to support interim federal health-care coverage for eligible recipients.

The increase in planned funding from 2020–2021 to 2021–2022 is mainly attributed to the funding to support implementation of the multi-year immigration levels plan.

Grants and Contributions

In order to support immigrants and refugees in integrating into Canadian society and the economy, IRCC funds a variety of settlement support services through a network of organizations. Services offered by these organizations help improve immigrant and refugee official language abilities and help newcomers acquire knowledge and skills necessary to integrate into Canadian society and the labour market.

IRCC operational requirements

A portion of financial resources for this core responsibility is used for operational purposes in selecting economic immigrant applicants, processing family member applications to reunite families, and processing refugee and protected person applications to provide a safe haven for those facing persecution, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians. IRCC works with federal government security partners and third-party health professionals to verify that individuals meet admissibility requirements. These financial resources also include a special purpose allotment to fund temporary and limited health coverage for eligible beneficiaries, including resettled refugees and asylum claimants.

Further details can be found in the “Spending and human resources” section of this report.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Core Responsibility 3: Citizenship and Passports

Description

IRCC promotes the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship, and issues secure and internationally recognized Canadian citizenship and travel documents so that Canadians can participate fully in civic society and so that travel is facilitated across borders while contributing to international and domestic security.

Planning highlights

Departmental Result 7: Eligible permanent residents become Canadian citizens

Updates to the Citizenship Guide and Oath

In 2019–2020, the Department will continue to engage with stakeholders on the content of the revised citizenship guide to support newcomers in studying for the citizenship test. This revised citizenship guide will better reflect Canada’s diversity and, in particular, respond to the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action to include more Indigenous perspectives and history—a key element in fostering reconciliation and establishing greater understanding between prospective citizens and Indigenous peoples in Canada. Also in response to the calls of action and in order to recognize Indigenous treaty rights, the Department will continue to advance policy development related to mandate letter commitments to update the Oath of Citizenship through legislative amendments.

Maintaining Citizenship Processing Standards

In 2019–2020, the Department will continue to improve client service tools to process the citizenship application inventory with the goal of maintaining the 12 month processing time commitment, thereby helping eligible candidates to become Canadian citizens.

The Department will continue to improve citizenship grant and proof application processes to increase efficiency, thus fulfilling the Minister’s commitment to reduce application processing times for obtaining citizenship. As well, the Department will conduct further analysis and exercises to improve efficiencies and processing times.

Experimentation

In 2018–2019, the Department worked on an electronic tool to facilitate the rescheduling of citizenship tests and ceremonies. In 2019–2020, the Department will continue to modernize the Citizenship Program, including through the launch of a new electronic application for proof of citizenship and search of citizenship records. The Department will continue the planning and implementation of a new citizenship grant operating model and a strategic roadmap aimed at improving the client experience and processing times while maintaining program integrity.

Departmental Result 8: Canadians’ international travel is facilitated

Engaging Internationally

The Department will continue to engage with international partners, notably through an international workshop with the European Commission, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Air Transport Association to discuss traveller processing technologies and to advance interoperability in travel document technologies.

Enhancements to the Passport Program

In 2019–2020, the Department will continue evaluating Passport Program outcomes through tools such as surveys with key stakeholders and by analyzing findings of the Passport Program Vision of the Future Survey.

In 2019–2020, the Department’s Passport Program Modernization Initiative (PPMI) will continue to advance its efforts to modernize the Passport Program and lay the foundation for Program service improvements. With improved business processes and a new service delivery model, PPMI will be better positioned to respond to fluctuating demand, evolving global security requirements, and evolving client expectations. The new system will increase efficiency in application processing while ensuring service levels across the country are maintained. PPMI will support program integrity and security through stronger identity management in areas such as facial recognition and the electronic validation of specific client data against provincial databases. Additionally, PPMI will support increased access to passport services for Canadians by providing consistent in-person services at more locations in Canada.

The Department is also advancing the development of the next-generation ePassport with ongoing development and integration in 2019–2020 and plans for a phased deployment in 2020–2021. This will involve the redesign of the entire suite of travel documents with enhanced security features and the deployment of a new software solution and equipment that personalizes blank passports.

Citizenship and Passports

Funding for this core responsibility is used to promote the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship, and to issue secure and internationally recognized Canadian citizenship and travel documents.

Citizenship Funding

For the citizenship component, resources are mainly used for assessment activities, administration of tests, checks to confirm applicants do not have a criminal record, activities to detect and prevent fraud, citizenship ceremonies and development of tools such as citizenship tests and guides. Citizenship funding from 2019–2020 to 2021–2022 ranges between $61.4 million and $63.9 million.

Funding Passport operations

IRCC collaborates with Service Canada and Global Affairs Canada to facilitate travel for Canadians and contribute to a safe and secure travel regime by issuing Canadian travel documents that are internationally recognized and respected.

The Passport Program operates on a full cost-recovery basis from fees charged for travel document services.

Fluctuations in this core responsibility stem from a reduction in investments such as the PPMI and ePassport projects, as many deliverables will be completed in 2019–2020. Further, the Passport Program is currently in the second half of its 10 year business cycle; this half of the business cycle includes an expected reduction in passport applications when compared against previous years, due primarily to the introduction of the 10 year passport in 2013, thereby reducing future revenues. As the Passport Program operates on a revolving fund basis, the program can generate surpluses and deficits for a given year, but is expected to balance by the end of the 10 year business cycle.

The reduced revenues that started in 2018–2019 are expected to continue in future years and are anticipated to result in funding gaps ($178.8 million in 2019–2020, $65.6 million in 2020–2021 and $58.7 million in 2021–2022); however, as planned at the onset of the 10 year business cycle, future funding gaps will be covered by the accumulated surpluses from previous years. This will ensure that the Passport Program’s operations and modernization initiatives will continue to operate on a normal basis.

Further details can be found in the “Spending and human resources” section of this report.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Internal Services

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of Programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct services categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. These services are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Management Services; Materiel Management Services; and Acquisition Management Services.

Planning highlights

Transforming the client experience

In 2018, IRCC simplified the information provided to clients in their “My immigration or application” account to include more meaningful case status text in addition to launching a service standard progress bar for Express Entry applicants. This latter initiative will be expanded to other lines of business in 2019. IRCC also plans to implement other innovative tools such as a notification functionality to proactively communicate with clients regarding their applications. By offering more meaningful information, IRCC hopes to reduce the need for people to seek support via other avenues, particularly through Access to Information and Privacy requests.

Workplace transformation at IRCC

The Department continues to assess opportunities associated with digital transformation and the delivery of information management and information technology services required to deploy IRCC’s programs and services. The Department will continue to invest in its information technology systems’ capacity and infrastructure required to support growth and functionality for users, as well as enable more efficient processes to reduce application processing times.

The Department continues to implement GCworkplace/Activity-based workplace (ABW) accommodation standards, which allow for more open and collaborative workspaces and encourage a more agile and mobile work force. By the end of 2019–2020, the Department expects to have over 40% of its workspaces within the National Capital Region migrated over to GCworkplace/ABW.

Internal Services

The Department made investments in the necessary infrastructure in order to ensure readiness for permanent and temporary immigration level increases. The reduction from 2019–2020 to 2020–2021 reflects the completion of these investments.

Spending and human resources

Planned spending

• Text version: Departmental spending trend graph

  Fiscal year	Total	Voted	Statutory
  2016–17	1,600	1,833	-233
  2017–18	1,917	2,079	-162
  2018–19	2,692	2,527	165
  2019–20	2,848	2,595	253
  2020–21	2,429	2,290	139
  2021–22	2,465	2,333	132

Due to changes in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reporting framework in fiscal year 2018–2019, expenditures by these core responsibilities for 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 are not available.

What the above table tells us

Total spending from 2016–2017 to 2021–2022 is influenced by significant items such as the increase in permanent resident admissions, permanent residents’ settlement and integration into Canadian society, the support of provinces and municipalities for temporary housing of asylum claimants, the welcoming of refugees and the provision to them of interim health coverage, the increase in temporary resident volumes and fluctuations in passport issuances over the 10 year business cycle for the Passport Program.

To support the delivery and compliance of the core business, investments are required to ensure IRCC operations meet all aspects of security, policy and legal requirements as well as upholding commitments made to IRCC partners.

Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers

There is no significant variance in funding for this core responsibility through the period covered by the Departmental Plan. Funding for significant recently implemented items comprising this core responsibility, such as biometrics transaction costs and temporary foreign worker program measures in Budget 2018 has been secured.

Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration

Variances in funding are related to certain initiatives such as an increase for the support of provinces and municipalities with respect to asylum claimants and an increase related to the implementation of the immigration levels plan, which aims to boost permanent resident admissions to 350,000 by 2021. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in funding levels related to interim federal health funding and the gradual decline in funding for the Syrian refugee initiative.

Citizenship and Passports

Variations in this core responsibility are attributable to the Passport program. The Passport Program is currently in the second half of its 10-year business cycle where expected reductions in passport applications are occurring due primarily to the introduction of the 10 year passport in 2013, thereby reducing future revenues. Fluctuations also stem from a reduction in investments such as the Passport Program Modernization Initiative and ePassport projects, as many deliverables will be completed in 2019–2020.

Internal Services

The Department required investments in specific infrastructure costs to ensure readiness to address permanent and temporary immigration level increases. The reduction from 2019–2020 to 2020–2021 reflects the completion of this temporary investment starting in 2020–2021.

Planned human resources

Due to changes in IRCC’s reporting framework in fiscal year 2018–2019, figures FTEs by these core responsibilities are not available for 2016–2017 and 2017–2018.

The FTE increase from 2016–2017 to 2017–2018 is mainly due to the resources required to implement the 2017 Immigration Levels Plan; resources required to address the increase in volumes in temporary resident applications; and the resources required to address irregular migration at the Canada-U.S. border. Additional FTEs were also required in Internal Services to assist with core business operations.

There is no significant fluctuation in the level of FTEs from 2018–2019 to 2021–2022. As necessary, the Department may realign FTEs to accommodate for those areas where pressures arise.

Estimates by vote

Information on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2019–2020 Main Estimates.

Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations

The Future-Oriented Condensed Statement of Operations provides a general overview of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s operations. The forecast of financial information on expenses and revenues is prepared on an accrual accounting basis to strengthen accountability and to improve transparency and financial management. The forecast and planned spending amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan are prepared on an expenditure basis; as a result, amounts may differ.

A more detailed Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s website.

IRCC’s activities for 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 will continue to focus on the increased immigration levels as established in the 2018–2020 multi-year immigration levels plan.

The increase in planned departmental expenses is mainly due to an increase in expenses related to the Asylum program. This increase will partly be offset by a decrease in expenses related to the Refugee Resettlement program and the Passport program.

Total departmental revenues are expected to decrease by $114 million or 28.8 %, from $395 million in 2018–2019 to $281 million in 2019–2020. This reduction is mainly attributable to decreased revenues in the Passport program stemming from a decrease in demand for passports subsequent to the introduction of 10 year passport in 2013.

Additional information

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister[s]: Ahmed D. Hussen

Institutional head: Marta Morgan

Ministerial portfolio: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Department: Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Statutory and Other Agencies: Citizenship Commission, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Enabling instrument[s]: Section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the Citizenship Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, and the Canadian Passport Order.

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1994

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s website.

Reporting framework

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2019–2020 are shown below:

• Text version: Departmental Results Framework

  • Core Responsibility 1: Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers
    • R1: Entry to Canada of eligible visitors, international students and temporary workers is facilitated
      • I 1. Total number of visas and electronic travel authorizations issued to visitors, international students and temporary workers
      • I 2. Percentage of visitor, international student and temporary worker applicants found inadmissible on health grounds and those who are authorized to enter with a condition on their visa related to health surveillance
      • I 3. Percentage of visitor, international student and temporary worker applicants found inadmissible on safety and security grounds
      • I 4. Percentage of temporary resident business lines that adhere to service standards
      • I 5. Percentage of visitor, international student and temporary worker applicants who report they were satisfied overall with the services they received
    • R2: Facilitation of temporary entry helps to generate economic benefits
      • I 6. Total monetary contribution of visitors and international students to Canada’s economy
      • I 7. Number of temporary workers who fill labour market needs for which Canadians are unavailable
  • Core Responsibility 2: Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration
    • R3: Potential permanent residents are selected for immigration to Canada
      • I 8. Total number of permanent resident admissions, against the annual immigration levels plan
      • I 9. Percentage of permanent residents admitted to Canada, outside Quebec, who identify as French-speaking
      • I 10. Percentage of permanent resident applicants found inadmissible on health grounds and those who are permitted admission with a condition on their visa related to health surveillance
      • I 11. Percentage of permanent resident applicants found inadmissible on safety and security grounds
      • I 12. Percentage of permanent resident business lines that adhere to service standards
      • I 13. Percentage of permanent resident applicants who report they were satisfied overall with the services they received
    • R4: Permanent residents are welcomed and benefit from settlement supports
      • I 14. Percentage of Canadians who support the current level of immigration
      • I 15. Percentage of settlement clients who improved their official language skills
      • I 16. Percentage of settlement clients who acquired knowledge and skills to integrate into the Canadian labour market
    • R5: Immigrants and refugees achieve economic independence and contribute to labour force growth
      • I 17. Percentage of newcomers who are employed
      • I 18. Percentage of immigrants and refugees who are in the middle income range or above
      • I 19. Percentage of the Canadian labour force that is made up of immigrants and refugees
    • R6: Immigrants and refugees feel part of and participate in Canadian society
      • I 20. Percentage of immigrants and refugees that have a strong sense of belonging
      • I 21. Percentage of immigrants and refugees who volunteer in Canada
  • Core Responsibility 3: Citizenship and Passports
    • R7: Eligible permanent residents become Canadian citizens
      • I 22. Percentage of permanent residents who become Canadian citizens
      • I 23. Percentage of citizenship applications that are processed within service standards
      • I 24. Percentage of citizenship applicants who report they were satisfied overall with the services they received
    • R8: Canadians’ international travel is facilitated
      • I 25. Percentage compliance of the Canadian passport with international standards
      • I 26. Percentage of passport applications that are processed within service standards
      • I 27. Percentage of passport applicants who report they were satisfied overall with the services they received

  Program Inventory

  • Core Responsibility 1: Visitors, International Students and Temporary Workers
    • Visitors
    • International Students
    • Temporary Workers
  • Core Responsibility 2: Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration
    • Federal Economic Immigration
    • Provincial Economic Immigration
    • Family Reunification
    • Humanitarian/Compassionate and Discretionary Immigration
    • Refugee Resettlement
    • Asylum
    • Settlement
  • Core Responsibility 3: Citizenship and Passports
    • Citizenship
    • Passport
  • Internal Services

Changes to the approved reporting framework since 2018–2019

Supporting information on the Program Inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s website.

• Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy^{Footnote 27}
• Details on transfer payment programs of $5 million or more
• Disclosure of transfer payment programs under $5 million
• Gender-based analysis plus
• Status report on transformational and major Crown projects

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis. The tax measures presented in this report are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

For any additional information on this report or other parliamentary reports, please contact ParliamentaryReports-RapportsParlementaires@cic.gc.ca.

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

Core Responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a Core Responsibility are reflected in one or more related Departmental Results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a three year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

Departmental Result (résultat ministériel)

Any change that the department seeks to influence. A Departmental Result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by Program-level outcomes.

Departmental Result Indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a Departmental Result.

Departmental Results Framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

The department’s Core Responsibilities, Departmental Results and Departmental Result Indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on the actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

evaluation (évaluation)

In the Government of Canada, the systematic and neutral collection and analysis of evidence to judge merit, worth or value. Evaluation informs decision making, improvements, innovation and accountability. Evaluations typically focus on programs, policies and priorities and examine questions related to relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. Depending on user needs, however, evaluations can also examine other units, themes and issues, including alternatives to existing interventions. Evaluations generally employ social science research methods.

experimentation (expérimentation)

Activities that seek to explore, test and compare the effects and impacts of policies, interventions and approaches, to inform evidence-based decision making, by learning what works and what does not.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full-time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])

An analytical process used to help identify the potential impacts of policies, Programs and services on diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people. The “plus” acknowledges that GBA goes beyond sex and gender differences. We all have multiple identity factors that intersect to make us who we are; GBA+ considers many other identity factors, such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2019–20 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities refers to those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2015 Speech from the Throne, namely: Growth for the Middle Class; Open and Transparent Government; A Clean Environment and a Strong Economy; Diversity is Canada's Strength; and Security and Opportunity.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, Program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

Performance Information Profile (profil de l’information sur le rendement)

The document that identifies the performance information for each Program from the Program Inventory.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)

The process of communicating evidence-based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

priority (priorité)

A plan or project that an organization has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired Departmental Results.

Program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

Program Inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all of the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s Core Responsibilities and Results.

result (résultat)

An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, Program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, Program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

sunset program (programme temporisé)

A time-limited program that does not have an ongoing funding and policy authority. When the program is set to expire, a decision must be made whether to continue the program. In the case of a renewal, the decision specifies the scope, funding level and duration.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, Program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The Vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.