CIMM – Overview of the Office of the Auditor General Report Recommendations and Responses by IRCC – December 05, 2023

Audit of Processing Applications for Permanent Residence (2022)

Objective/Scope: The objective of this audit was to determine whether Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada processed applications for permanent residence in a prompt and efficient manner to support Canada’s economic, family reunification, and humanitarian objectives.

1. Establish new service standards for permanent residence streams that currently have none, and resettled refugee immigration programs;
   1. PR Economic and Family class milestones
      • Data collection and engagement with internal stakeholders.
      • Analysis and consultation with Program owners, the Service Delivery Sector, and stakeholders.
      • Recommendations on PR Economic and Family Class presented to Senior Management.
   2. Resettled Refugees milestones
      • Data collection and engagement with internal stakeholders.
      • Analysis and consultation with Program owners, the Service Delivery Sector, and stakeholders.
      • Recommendations on Resettled Refugees presented to Senior Management.
2. All existing service standards are reviewed to ensure they remain comprehensive, meaningful, and relevant.
   1. Review of existing service standards
      • Data collection, engagement, and consultation on existing service standards.
      • Advice and recommendations to senior management on whether to keep as is or update if required.

1. December, 2024
   1. December 31, 2023
      February 29, 2024
      March 31, 2024
   2. May 31, 2024
      May 31, 2024
      June 30, 2024
2. December , 2024
   1. November 30, 2024
      December 31, 2024

1. The department is examining other options of reporting processing times that will better inform clients of when can they expect their application to be processed through consultation with program owners, Communications and OPPB.
2. Implement a new methodology, including regular updates, where it is meaningful, relevant and easy to understand by clients and stakeholders.

1. September 30, 2024
2. December 31, 2024

1. The Department will establish a more comprehensive inventory and processing time monitoring regime, which will provide insights and analysis on processing times by country of residence.
2. Findings are considered in resource and target allocation within the processing networks.
   • With respect to Government-Assisted Refugees, the Department would continue to develop multi-year resettlement commitments to enable forward-planning internally and with resettlement partners to support resource-allocation planning, with the view to aligning wait times to the extent possible within the GAR program, while continuing to take into account the relative vulnerability of applicants. Multi-year resettlement commitments are established and considered in resource-allocation strategies within Global Network.

1. April 1, 2024
2. December 31, 2024
   • February 29, 2024

1. Establishing a framework for priority processing that would ensure a clear assessment of the humanitarian or public policy needs, as well as the potential impacts on wait times to other applicants on inventory.
2. This framework will encompass a regular review/re-assessment in order to help mitigate the potential impacts on differential outcomes.

1. March 31, 2024
2. June 30, 2024- First Quarter Review

1. Develop a pilot plan to test methodology and gain insights about the best ways to collect, analyze and use race-based and ethnocultural data.
   1. Consult with stakeholders on data already available.
   2. Consult/determine best methodology to collect data including data integrity, standards, ethics, analysis, and privacy safeguards. Additionally, assessing the sample size of the test group and whether any biases exist.
   3. Determine how the collected data will be used.
   4. Publish a plan with a methodology for the pilot, with roles, responsibilities, activities (e.g., adjustments to forms) and critical path identified.
   5. Launch the pilot.
   6. Analyze data and identify findings of the pilot.
   7. Determine how the pilot findings will be incorporated in examination of overall differential wait times.

1. April 1, 2025
   1. February 29, 2024
   2. April 1, 2024
   3. June 1, 2024
   4. September 1, 2024
   5. October 1 , 2024
   6. February 1, 2025
   7. April 1, 2025

1. Examining backlogged applications to identify and action processing delays.
2. IRCC has developed and utilizes an internal reporting system that tracks applications processing delays at their final stage and identifies applications without known impediments to processing. The system enables processing networks and offices to quickly select and action applications. Implemented December 5, 2021. The report is distributed to managers in processing centers to consult when needed and helping them to find out the list of cases ready for finalization.
3. Develop a comprehensive monitoring system specifically designed to pinpoint activities required on applications within different stages of processing. A prototype will be developed.
4. Finalization of older backlogged applications.

5. IRCC has set internal targets to address backlogged applications for key lines of business. This was implemented.

   Following the audit period significant progress has been made to reduce backlogged inventories in Key lines of business:

   • Between January 2023 and October 2023 IRCC has reduced the Federal High Skilled backlog from 20% to 12% of applications on inventory, reduced the Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry) backlog from 38% to 27% of applications on inventory, and reduced the spouses, partners and children (except for Quebec) backlog from 24% to 16% of applications on inventory.

6. IRCC will continue to expand this approach of setting internal targets to each program with Service Standards, targets and reporting to be in place.

   Please note that regional disparities that are going to be address with the new system are detailed in recommendation #4, paragraph 53.
   In Budget 2023, IRPA was amended to clarify that the Minister may give instructions regarding the processing of sponsorship applications.

1. N/A
2. December 5, 2021
3. April 1, 2024
4. N/A
5. January 31, 2023
6. July 1, 2024

1. Analyze and explore options to develop an implementation plan.
2. Consult with stakeholders to develop an implementation plan

Seek final approvals of the implementation plan

1. May 31, 2024
2. October 31, 2024

January 31, 2025

1. Develop a tool to monitor output in relation to inventory and identify gaps in wait times. Based on recent processing trends, this tool will help with planning future output to ensure consistency of application processing times. This tool includes all Lines of Business and all offices, with distinctions between Quebec and Rest of Canada-destined clients (which have different targets).
2. Expand internal monitoring and reporting on differences in months of inventory across offices and/or regions. The expanded use of this tool will support OPPB and the processing networks as they continue to work together on target setting and workload distribution.

1. April 1, 2024
2. July 1, 2024

Networks to assign workloads as needed to their respective resources, by:

1. Examining the levels targets for each line of business annually.
2. Examining resource allocation based on the established targets annually.
3. Continuing to staff and allocate resources, based on yearly assumption exercises, which allow a projection of the upcoming level of work to be performed annually.
4. Cross-training of resources and subsequent workload distribution to help maintain relevant processing knowledge, skills and expertise will continue to take place, ensuring optimally flexibility in the workforce (i.e. Global Network provides virtual, region specific, training to in-Canada employees, including Centralized and Domestic Networks) annually.

1. November 1, 2024
2. December 31, 2024
3. December 31, 2024
4. December 31, 2024

1. Utilize internal tools to help with production tracking and workload management, wherein Networks would support the Operations Planning and Performance Branch by being proactive in flagging any concerns relative to misalignment between resources and the expected processing output.
   1. Identify the tools to be utilized (e.g. the “early warning flag” approach).
      • IRCC deployed a mid-year cost management exercise across networks which piloted inclusion of new categories to better identify processing resources.
   2. Implement the tools in the approach.
      • Cost management exercise for 23/24 implements lessons learned from Fall pilot.
   3. Review the use and efficacy of the tools.
      • Review of approach with OPPB and across networks.
   4. Implement a systematic approach to productivity measures for all lines of business that will also inform available capacity.

1. Annually, starting December 31, 2024
   1. October 31, 2023
   2. March 30, 2024
   3. June 30, 2024
   4. July 2024

1. 19 of 26 planned decision-maker positions have been staffed through 2022 and 2023.
2. Refugee processing surge team and inter-regional work sharing plan established for 2024.
3. Stabilize and review for further expansion of the Temporary Resident work-sharing resources within the Integrated Network.
4. Review of position creation and staffing in Sub-Saharan Africa.
5. Prioritize and allocate Temporary Duty resources as needed to support refugee processing.

1. October 31, 2023
2. February 29, 2024
3. February 29, 2024
4. June 30, 2024
5. December 31, 2024

1. OPPB will create a recurrent report to monitor the PR processing times of applications currently benefiting from the use of automated decision-making tools and manual processing.
2. OPPB will monitor PR processing times and evaluate whether differential outcomes are outside established Service Standards and merit further action. Networks to monitor and assign workloads as needed to their respective resources,
   • examining the levels targets for each line of business annually,
   • examining resource allocation based on the established targets annually,
   • continuing to staff and allocate resources, based on yearly assumption exercises, which allow a projection of the upcoming level of work to be performed annually.
3. If differential processing times can be mitigated with additional resources, then OPPB and the Centralized and Domestic Networks will formulate a plan to lessen the disparity, where possible, between processing time outcomes..
4. If further actions are determined to be required, they will be fully implemented. Prioritization of certain actions may also be required, to ensure the shortest possible delays in rectifying the differential processing times.

1. January 1, 2024
2. November 1, 2024
   December 31, 2024
   December 31, 2024
3. April 1, 2024
4. April 1, 2025

• Approval by Architecture Review Committee.
• IT development begins.
• User testing.
• Launched of PSR stream in the PR portal.

• IT portal development for GAR begins.
• Engagement and training with referral partners.
• Launch of GAR stream in PR portal.

• Established sustainable and secure method for receiving UNHCR GAR referrals through the SharePoint interface.
• Approximately 95% of UNHCR GAR referrals are submitted via SharePoint. A small number of UNHCR offices continue to submit referrals via regular email due to problems with functionality.
• Deadline to achieve 100% SharePoint use for all UNHCR GAR referrals.

• Program prioritization is currently being developed with expected front-end client applications to be released.