PACP - IT/Database System (i.e., data sharing between departmental systems) - Nov 24, 2020
Key messages
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) are jointly working on the Asylum Interoperability Project (AIP). The project’s overall purpose is to modernize asylum system processes, which includes addressing the recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General audit on the Asylum system.
AIP focuses on improving information sharing between IRCC, CBSA and the IRB systems. Enhancements are being made to ensure accuracy in data collection and improve data exchange and reliability by ensuring that all systems have the same information, that the information is exchanged in a timely, secure and efficient manner.
IRCC is also reducing the dependency on paper, by creating an online application to allow refugee claimants to submit their claims electronically, therefore increasing the efficiency of the process and reducing manual data entry.
By improving reporting capabilities, both organizations will ensure that all data points related to the asylum continuum can be recorded and will introduce technologies that facilitate faster data capture, data sharing and enhance decision making.
Supplementary messages
The Auditor General’s (OAG) report on Immigration Removals, (released on July 8th, 2020) has found that immigration removals are taking years to complete partly due to inefficient data flow between IRCC and CBSA. A recommendation in the report is that CBSA in conjunction with IRCC “establish a process to ensure that any new information entering the database is accurate and timely”.
As acknowledged in the report IRCC “is committed to working with the Canada Border Services Agency to ensure accurate and timely data entry, including by the Department of Justice Canada, to assist the agency in managing its removal program as well as to deliver on the department’s program integrity and quality assurance objectives.”
With the establishment of the Chief Data Officer Branch at IRCC, the issue of regularizing removals data flow between IRCC and CBSA has been identified as a priority.
In order to regularize data flow, IRCC and CBSA CDOs are working together to identify (a) required data points (b) appropriate information sharing mechanism.
Consultations have begun with Legal Services and Access to Information and Privacy to address legal and privacy aspects of regularizing data flow between the two organizations.
The recent removals audit identified poor data quality, significant data integrity issues and system interface failures between departmental systems to be an impairment in ensuring the timely removal of foreign nationals ordered to leave Canada.
Asylum Interoperability Project (AIP) improves data integrity and streamlines data sharing with partner systems allowing for Removal Order information to be received in a timely matter as to identify when decisions have been made that affect the status of a removal and enhances reporting on the removal of individuals ensuring that the Removals inventory is accurately reflected.
IRCC and CBSA are working on improving the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) process by eliminating duplicate data entry in both IRCC and CBSA systems.
AIP will allow the IRB to share Asylum hearing decisions electronically with IRCC in a timely manner to enhance the CBSA removal process of foreign nationals
Supporting facts and figures
Canada received a historic high of over 50,000 asylum claims in 2017 and over 55,000 in 2018. However, the Canadian asylum system has been staffed and funded to process a baseline of only 26,000 claims annually.
Background
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) currently operate their own case management tools with limited interoperability, causing program integrity risks, administrative inefficiency and processing delays for asylum claimants.
With the current COVID-19 situation and the closure of borders and offices (IRCC and IRB), the Asylum System has been significantly impacted due to the reliance on paper-based and in person processes. It presents the opportunity to move towards enhanced digital processing.
The Asylum Interoperability Project (AIP), intends to respond to immediate pressures facing the in-Canada asylum system, while advancing broader structural reforms to manage current and future volumes. AIP is a Treasury Board approved project which began on July 2019 and aims to improve processes and increasing efficiency in asylum registration and intake processes at ports of entry (POEs) and inland offices.
Project benefits include: Increased and improved electronic data sharing; reduced average processing times for asylum claims; decrease manual processing of physical forms and improved client service.
Chief Data Offices at both IRCC and CBSA have been meeting regularly and working together on identifying a mechanism to share data on a regular basis.
