Response to Parliamentary committees and external audits
Response to parliamentary committees
Report 16 – Asylum-Seekers at Canada’s Border
Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada projects that, throughout 2022, a potentially record-setting 50,000 asylum-seekers will have crossed irregularly into Canada, bypassing points of entry at the border to file a refugee claim. Following migratory trends observed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the last five years, 95% of these irregular refugees will have crossed at Roxham Road, into the province of Quebec. Not only is the situation at Roxham Road highlighting the need for a modernized approach to responsibility sharing at the border, but it also confronts Canadians to the vulnerability inherent to international humanitarian migration, in a very tangible way.
This report examines the impacts of Canadian legislation, related administrative processes, and the Safe Third Country Agreement on the conditions that refugee claimants face to seek protection in Canada, specifically for those who cross at Roxham Road. It follows a study by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on the conditions faced by asylum-seekers conducted from 15 November 2022 to 25 November 2022.
Report 18 – In Demand Yet Unprocessed: Endemic Immigration Backlogs
Canada continues to be one of the top countries attracting people from around the world and remains steady in its need for a robust labour force. In the era of globalization, people are highly mobile; they come to Canada to work, study or start a new life. This process takes place through forms that are submitted by hopeful applicants. These forms are reviewed by IRCC, which eventually makes a determination. Unfortunately, the number of applications has far outpaced processing capacity, while the transition to a digital processing environment has faced major challenges, forming a seemingly insurmountable backlog.
This report follows a study by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on application backlogs and processing times conducted from 5 May 2022 to 1 November 2022.
Response to External Audits
Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)
Office of the Auditor General (OAG) 2023 Fall Report: Report 9 – Performance Audit of Processing Applications for Permanent Residence
This audit focused on whether IRCC processes applications for permanent residence in a prompt and efficient manner to support Canada’s economic, family reunification and humanitarian objectives. The scope covered the period from January 1st to December 31, 2022, and eight programs comprising: four Economic Class programs; two Family Class programs; and two Refugee and Humanitarian Class programs. The audit resulted in six recommendations. The Department agreed with all six recommendations and an action plan was developed to address these.
This commentary includes the Auditor General’s observations on significant findings identified as part of the Audit of the Government of Canada’s Consolidated Financial Statements, for which IRCC was a stakeholder. The audit focused on personnel expenses, pension and other future benefits transactions. While the audit’s focus covered fiscal year 2022–23, the report was published in October of 2023. There were no recommendations for IRCC.
Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages
There were no audits requiring a response in 2023–24.