CIMM – IRCC’s 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates (C) – March 3, 2022

Key Messages

• The Department’s 2021-2022 Supplementary Estimates (C) include voted authorities of $171.4M for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada which are mainly comprised of funding for temporary accommodations for unvaccinated asymptomatic asylum seekers without a suitable quarantine plan ($87.8M), for the Canada-Quebec Accord ($46.8M), for processing temporary resident visas for workers, students and visitors ($15.8M), and for proof of vaccination credentials ($8.0M).
• Two new votes are being sought in these Supplementary Estimates:
  • Vote 15 – Debt forgiveness to grant IRCC the authority to perform an internal reallocation of $2,765 to forgive debts owed to the Crown for immigration loans; and
  • Vote 20 – Debt write-off to authorize the write-off of outstanding immigration loans in the amount of $0.2M.
• In addition, these Supplementary Estimates include $3.7M in statutory funding related to contributions to Employee Benefit Plans to recognize increases in salary included in these Supplementary Estimates.
• These Supplementary Estimates also include a net transfer of      (-$0.8M) with other government departments mainly comprised of a transfer out of (-$1.6M) to CBSA for the Air Carrier Support Centre offset by a transfer in of $0.8M from Global Affairs Canada to adjust funding previously provided for departmental staff located at missions abroad.
• Taking into account spending authorities reflected in 2021-22 Main Estimates, 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates (A), (B) and (C), as well as Treasury Board central vote allocations, IRCC’s financial authorities for 2021-22 will increase to $3.9B in total.

Supporting Facts and Figures

Funding included in these Supplementary Estimates is comprised of the following items:

1. Funding for temporary accommodations for unvaccinated asymptomatic asylum seekers without a suitable quarantine plan – $87.8M of voted authorities
   • Funding to increase IRCC’s temporary accommodations with the majority of the capacity is in the Greater Montréal Area until March 31, 2022, to maintain operational readiness in the event of a surge of asylum seekers. Since the direct back arrangement with the U.S. was lifted on November 21, 2021, there has been a significant increase in asylum claimants arriving between designated ports of entry when compared to the total irregular arrivals between March 2020 and November 2021.
2. Funding for the Canada-Quebec Accord – $46.8M of voted authorities
   • This adjustment is related to the annual grant to Quebec to support settlement and integration services in the province of Quebec under the Canada-Quebec Accord.
   • For this year, extraordinary COVID-19 expenditures were removed from the two escalator factors used to calculate the grant adjustment. The annual growth for the 2021-22 payment is 7.2% –  representing 6.5% from federal spending and 0.7% from non-Francophone immigrants.
   • Overall, total funding in 2021-22 for the Accord is equivalent to $697.0M.
3. Funding to process temporary resident visas for workers, students and visitors (Budget 2021) – $15.8M of voted authorities
   • As announced in Budget 2021, this funding will support the temporary resident (TR) processing by maintaining capacity for 2021-22. With recent forecasts, the Department is observing a rapid resumption of application volumes post-pandemic. This funding will allow the Department to maintain the readiness of trained staff to handle the workload, reduce processing times and improve client service. As such, this investment in the TR programs, namely visitors, workers, and students, links to government priorities as these three main lines of business contribute to Canada’s economic growth and provide social benefits. 
4. Funding for proof of vaccination credentials – $8.0M of voted authorities
   • Funding to cover expenses on the Canadian COVID-19 Proof of Vaccination Credential (PVC) project to date and through the end of fiscal year 2021-22. Following changes to the end state of the Canadian PVC, it is now and will continue to be issued by provinces and territories, who are the main holders of most Canadian vaccination data and thus the most appropriate issuers of PVCs for those vaccinated in their jurisdictions.
5. Funding to extend the Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot (Budget 2021) – $4.2M of voted authorities
   • IRCC is seeking total funding $14.9M over two years to extend the Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot. This will enable third-party organizations to: a) continue delivering targeted services that support the labor market attachment and career advancement of racialized newcomer women in Canada; and b) finalize testing and evaluating new models of employment-related settlement services for racialized newcomer women. This will support improved employment-related services for racialized newcomer women under the Settlement Program.
6. Funding to proceed with building Canada’s modern, digital and data-driven migration system (Budget 2021) – $2.5M of voted authorities
   • As announced in Budget 2021, this funding will support the Definition stage of the Digital Platform Modernization Phase 3 Program which will determine IRCC’s future business model and transformation objectives, develop the business and technical capability roadmaps to align to benefits, and select a System Integrator.
7. Funding to increase protection for temporary foreign workers (Budget 2021) – $2.2M of voted authorities
   • As announced in Budget 2021, this funding will support the integrity of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) through two key measures: enhancements to Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers (OWP-V) Program Service Delivery, as well as ESDC-led Employer Compliance Inspections and Program Integrity Work (Inspections). Funding provided under OWP-V will be used to manage the volumes and complexity of OWP-V applications. Funding for Inspections will be used to support TFWP inspections conducted by ESDC to help respond to requests for work permits and LMIA-name information available in the Global Case Management System.
8. Funding for government advertising programs – $1.5M of voted authorities
   • The proposed national campaign will inform newcomers to Canada about settlement services available in the official language of their choice to help them succeed in their new home. These services include employment-related services, information and orientation services, community connections services, language assessment and training, mentorship, and more. This campaign will highlight supports to Francophone immigration.
9. Funding to respond to the Venezuelan migrant and refugee crisis (Budget 2021) – $1.3M of voted authorities
   • This funding will support the Venezuelan Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean Region to help the targeted governments of Panama and Colombia better respond to the needs of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees while helping to strengthen their border and migration management policies.
   • Total funding of $3.8M (excluding SSC and Accommodation costs) over two years includes $3.5M in vote 10 through the International Assistance Envelope (IAE) to be managed under the Terms and Conditions of IRCC's International Migration Capacity Building Program (IMCBP). Vote 1 funding is being sought to hire 0.6 FTE in 2021-22 and 1 FTE in 2022‑23.
10. Funding  for the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy – $0.8M of voted authorities
    • IRCC is seeking $0.8M for 2021-22 via these Supplementary Estimates. Funding was earmarked in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement for operating expenditures to support planning and research, engaging with stakeholders, implementing changes to IT systems, developing a performance measurement framework and drafting related policy products.
    • In 2022-23, an amount of $15.7M will be sought via the 2022-23 Main Estimates. This funding was earmarked in Budget 2021 to support the launch and implementation of the new program, providing policy program oversight, liaising with implicated stakeholders and the management of contribution agreements with service delivery organizations.
11. Funding to advance the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (Budget 2021) – $0.4M of voted authorities
    • IRCC is seeking $2M in Vote 10 funding over five years to continue supporting the Gender-Based Violence National Action Plan. The funding requested in this omnibus Treasury Board Submission will provide support to address urgent needs, strengthen federal efforts to prevent and address gender-based violence and build towards a national action plan.
12. Funding to write-off outstanding immigration loans – $0.2M
    • Funding to write off debts from 257 immigration loans deemed uncollectable or for which further administrative expenses or other costs of collecting the debt are not justifiable in relation to the amount of the debt or the probability of collection. In comparison, IRCC wrote-off 351 outstanding immigration loan deemed uncollectable corresponding to an amount of $0.3M in 2019-20. 
13. Funding to authorize the inclusion and adjustment of an authority embedded in vote wording – $1
    • Funding is required for the creation of the Debt forgiveness vote related to item 15 explained below.
14. Transfer from GAC to adjust funding previously provided for departmental staff located at missions abroad – $0.8M
    • A transfer of $0.8M from GAC is included in these Supplementary Estimates for adjustments related to supporting IRCC’s staff located at missions abroad.
15. Internal reallocation of resources to forgive debt owed to the Crown for immigration loans – (Nil impact)
    • This internal reallocation of resources is to forgive a debt in the amount of $2,765 related to an immigration loan based on compassionate grounds.
16. Transfer to TBS for Financial Community Developmental Programs and the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility initiative (‑$8,333)
    • IRCC's contribution to fund the renewal and delivery of the development programs. These development programs are delivered by the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) on behalf of the financial management community. It also includes a contribution to increase resources for the implementation of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) strategic recruitment on behalf of the financial management community as well as integration of required changes to existing development programs.
17. Transfer to TBS to support the Capacity Accelerator Project (-$0.02M)
    • This transfer (and for the next two years 2022-23 & 2023-24) will cover the 2021-22 salaries and operational costs incurred by the Internal Audit Sector within the Office of Comptroller General (OCG-IAS) to contribute to the internal audit community services and initiatives, called “the Capacity Accelerator Project”. OCG-IAS is responsible for the implementation of a renewed vision for internal audit in the Government of Canada, which aims to reinforce the function’s role as a credible and timely assurance provider that advises management in light of the organization’s strategy, objectives and tolerance for risk. This funding is for the additional capacity that is required to meet the increased demand for services and to continue to develop a sustainable, diverse and professional IA community.
18. Transfer to CBSA for the Air Carrier Support Centre (-$1.6M)
    • This transfer is equivalent to IRCC's financial contribution to CBSA for essential services Air Carrier Support Centre to help facilitate the travel continuum for travelers flying to or through Canadian airports.

Background

• The 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates (C) represent the third supply request this fiscal year.
• These Supplementary Estimates are expected to be tabled in Parliament in February 2022 and supply is anticipated by March 2022.
• Funding related to Employee Benefit Plans consist of employer costs for the Public Service Superannuation Plan, the Canada and Quebec Pension Plan, Death Benefits, and Employment Insurance.