OGGO – Question Period Note – Digital Platform Modernization – February 15, 2023

Date: January 12, 2023

Classification:

Department: IRCC

Issue: 

Modernizing Canada’s migration, citizenship and passport systems

Proposed Response:

• A fast, agile and reliable immigration system is critical to Canada’s success and ability to meet the changing needs and expectations of clients.
• Over the next five years, IRCC will undergo business transformation to modernize its programs and services.
• Through the Digital Platform Modernization (DPM) program, IRCC is redesigning its business to provide a modern client experience and more efficient immigration system, underpinned by new technologies and data capabilities.
• Ultimately, its Digital Platform Modernization program will enable IRCC to:
  • meet expectations for client-focused services and a better client experience;
  • respond quickly to changing conditions and priorities;
  • manage increasing application volumes; and
  • better use data to improve programs and keep Canadians safe, healthy and secure.
• Moving forward, we know public confidence in a digitally-enabled immigration system will depend on safeguards to maintain the health, safety, and security of Canadians, to protect against bias and to ensure accessibility for a diverse client population.

If pressed:

• This initiative builds on modernization work to date and will draw on the Department’s response to the COVID‑19 pandemic, which resulted in digital innovation and demonstrated the importance of agility in our programs and services.
• The modernization of Canada’s immigration system is supported by the announcement of $827.3M in the 2021 Budget.
• Given the scale and complexity of this project, IRCC is looking to private sector suppliers with world-class skills and experience to support the development and implementation of a new operating model and IT platform, using transparent and competitive procurement processes.

Contact:
Alanna MacDougall
Director General, Program Design
Tel. No.: 613-769-5276

Approved by:
Jason Choueiri
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Digital Strategy, Services and Innovation Sector
Tel. No.: 613-218-9221

Background:

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is undertaking a multi-year, multi-phase business modernization and IT renewal initiative known as Digital Platform Modernization (DPM).
• DPM will deliver a new operating model with redesigned and optimized business processes and a new supporting digital platform, with modern capabilities, that will gradually replace IRCC’s aging IT platform (i.e. the Global Case Management System, or GCMS) and other legacy systems.
• The DPM program will achieve its goals and objectives by delivering three consecutive and overlapping phases.
• Phase 1 (“Stabilize”), now complete, was designed to de-risk and stabilize GCMS in advance of Phases 2 and 3, with a focus on reducing the technical debt that had accumulated over the years in the legacy system. Additional investments included cloud technology and capacity that will be leveraged as part of Phase 2.
• Phase 2 (“Standardize”), currently underway and building upon elements of Phase 1, continues to standardize IT operations and reduce technical debt to prepare the Department for digital transformation. Ongoing maturing of the cloud elements we need for the new digital platform during Phase 3 is also underway.
• Phase 3 (“Enhance”), now in its Definition stage, will transform the way that IRCC works and delivers its services to clients and Canadians around the world through the delivery of a new digital platform and the processes and policies that support it.
• The third phase of the DPM initiative (DPM Phase 3) is the most complex and will yield the most significant benefits to Canadians. DPM Phase 3 is underway, running from January 2022 through December 2026. Budget 2021 committed $827.3M over five years to support the modernization of Canada’s immigration system and the development of an enterprise-wide digital platform.
• DPM Phase 3 is designed to achieve a business vision for a modern, digital and data-driven managed migration system. This system will be nimble, flexible and responsive enough to support growing volumes, actively helping us to: reduce application processing times; improve tools for our officers; meet the Government’s immigration and diversity priorities; and critically respond to the changing needs and expectations of clients as Canada seeks to out-compete other countries for the best and brightest.
• A key activity during the “Definition” stage of DPM Phase 3 (Feb 2022-May 2023) has been engaging with prospective vendors. In collaboration with Public Services and Procurement Canada, IRCC has completed three formal Requests for Information (RFIs) – informing the industry of our requirements and giving them the opportunity to provide feedback.
• We are now in the next phase of the procurement process, to procure a new digital technology platform that will eventually replace the Department’s current case management system. An Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) was posted in October 2022 and closed in early January 2023. The intent of the ITQ was to select a short list of vendors – Systems Integrators and Core Technology Vendors – who will work with IRCC to refine our requirements, before issuing a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) later in 2023.
• In the meantime, the Department continues to assess options to accelerate the delivery of benefits to clients in advance of the back-end implementation being completed.
• Modernizing the way IRCC delivers immigration programs is critical, so Canadians can continue to enjoy the benefits of immigration. Canada’s managed migration system contributes to Canadian interests in several ways, including by driving economic growth and innovation; growing the population, specifically the labour force, to help offset the pace of retirements as Canadians age; enriching and building communities; and contributing to Canada’s diversity and international reputation.
• Modernizing the way IRCC delivers its programs and services will directly benefit Canadians in other ways, too. For example, among the millions of people who interact with IRCC’s services each year are Canadians sponsoring relatives, hiring employees, applying for or renewing passports, and applying for citizenship.
• Overall, modernization will enable IRCC to further the Government’s vision to be “an open and service-oriented organization that operates and delivers programs and services to people and business in simple, modern and effective ways that are optimized for digital and available anytime, anywhere and from any device.”

DPM Is Part Of IRCC’s Broader Transformation Effort

• IRCC is modernizing the way it works, including how it delivers services (e.g., finding better ways to process applications) and the Department’s digital infrastructure (e.g. providing better digital tools for employees and new digital services to meet changing client expectations).
• IRCC has already undertaken extensive work to transform the Department’s numerous business lines, including introducing back-end technology and administrative efficiencies, as well as new client-facing tools and service delivery channels.
• In many ways, the COVID‑19 pandemic accelerated transformation efforts already underway. For example, during the pandemic, IRCC:
  • began to hold asylum interviews remotely;
  • welcomed new Canadians at virtual citizenship ceremonies;
  • became the first country in the world to offer citizenship testing online; and
  • expanded the ability to submit applications electronically in some permanent residence streams.
• IRCC also recognizes that clients and Canadians increasingly expect programs and services that are fast, personalized, intuitive and able to respond to changing conditions as quickly as information now moves around the world.

Application Volumes And Processing Times

• An enhanced digital platform will enable us to manage increasing application volumes.
• While we are in the process of defining our processing targets as part of our modernization vision, we expect that the future system will provide clients with faster processing, user-friendly and seamless online services, and more timely information about their application status.

Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity And Inclusiveness (ARDEI) And Anti-Discrimination Principles

• IRCC knows that public confidence in a technology-enabled immigration system will depend on safeguards to protect against unintended bias and discrimination, and in ensuring accessibility for a diverse client population. We are committed to embedding the principles of diversity, equity and anti-racism into our modernization journey.
• The modernization of IRCC’s business processes and systems is expected to benefit our diverse client base, including by providing a user experience that is easier and more transparent.
• As part of the Definition stage of the DPM program, IRCC is applying an intersectional approach, e.g. anti-racism and gender-based analytical lenses, to its work.
• Through DPM Phase 3, IRCC will ensure digital solutions are developed to take into account disparate realities, impacts, and intersectionality on Black, Indigenous and racialized groups by active inclusion of diverse representatives. The program will also review and monitor analytical model building processes to ensure that bias is not replicated or imitated in data gathering and analysis.
• Further, as the program redesigns business processes and increases the use of automation it will ensure that a credible approach to ARDEI is being applied at every stage and that the necessary attention is being given to both assessing and addressing the inequities and disparities that exist within our systems, ultimately helping the program to achieve optimal outcomes for employees and Canadians.