PACP - IRCC’s OAG Audit Response – Timely Entry of Litigation Information - Nov 24, 2020

Key messages

• The Government of Canada welcomes the Auditor General’s report and agrees with its recommendations, which offer valuable insights that support ongoing efforts to improve the immigration and asylum system.
• In order to implement the audit’s recommendations on improving the integrity of data and case management practices, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is committed to working with the CBSA and DOJ to ensure accurate and timely data entry to assist the Agency in managing its removal programs as well as to ensure IRCC’s program integrity and quality assurance objectives.
• IRCC has identified a solution for a system-based reporting and oversight mechanism to ensure litigation data entry is completed in a timely manner. As part of the recommendations, IRCC committed to implement a solution, in conjunction with Canada Border Service Agency and Justice Canada, by September 30, 2021.

Supplementary messages

• Although, the execution of removal orders falls solely within the mandate of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), IRCC is implicated in this audit because of our responsibility for the creation of removal orders for certain cases. IRCC is also responsible for ensuring that the Department of Justice enters data regarding Federal Court decisions promptly.
• IRCC is developing a reporting and oversight mechanism that will implicate changes to IRCC systems for ensuring litigation data entry is accurate and completed in a timely manner. This will ensure that removals on hold pending litigation outcomes can proceed as quickly as possible. This process involves, collaborating with departmental systems’ teams, as well as collaboration with DOJ and CBSA.
• Due to competing IT priorities and internal capacity the implementation of the identified solution will take some time. As such an interim solution using the DOJ database is being explored, concurrent with pursuing a permanent IT solution. This will ensure that we can begin to monitor electronically as quickly as possible.
• An interdepartmental working group is actively engaged to ensure this action item progresses and that litigation data entry is completed in a timely manner. Monthly meetings with stakeholders from CBSA and DOJ are organized to ensure that action items are on track.

OAG Audit Response: Timely and accurate entry of litigation information

• The Audit found significant data integrity issues, which impaired the Canada Border Services Agency’s ability to know which removal orders to enforce.
• The long-term solution is to modify the IRCC system to include tracking for these decisions. As the implementation of the changes to the IRCC system are lengthier, the interim solution is to use the DOJ database.
• Combined with IRCC making adjustments to its existing quality assurance and data monitoring reports to ensure that all removal orders are entered correctly in the system in a timely manner, this will allow for the CBSA to better manage its inventory.

Supporting facts and figures

• IRCC will continue to complete the monthly quality assurance reports for tracking removal orders, in addition to progressing with system changes. 
• In addition to IRCC’s actions, CBSA will also work with its officials and partners to ensure the timely and accurate input of information in support of removals, whether through system upgrades or additional training measures during the 2020–21 fiscal year.

Background

• The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has conducted a review of the Immigration Removals Program during the fall of 2019 and winter of 2020. The report was tabled on July 8, 2020. The report identifies IRCC as one of the parties responsible for impacting the execution of removal orders in a timely manner.
• One of the findings that implicates IRCC involves data entry errors of removal orders. Specifically, the OAG found there were approximately 1500 removal orders missing from CBSA’s system that were found in the Global Case Management System (GCMS), of which approximately 1200 were due to IRCC data entry errors.
• Upon learning of the OAG’s over data quality concerns, IRCC adjusted its existing quality assurance and data monitoring reports to ensure that all removal orders are entered correctly in the system to allow the CBSA to better manage its inventory.
• Another finding made by the OAG concerns system issues and delays in the entry of Federal Court decisions related to failed asylum claimants. While most litigation data entry in GCMS is entered by the Department of Justice, the OAG determined it was IRCC’s responsibility to ensure these decisions are entered in a timely manner. The OAG did not account for any delays by the Federal Court in communicating the decisions to DOJ, as this was determined to be out of the scope. Furthermore, the materiality of the delay was not considered (i.e. these were recorded as delays, even if the data was not relevant to a removal process – for example, if the applicant had another pending application that halted removal and/or if the applicant was subject to a suspension of removal).
• Specifically, one of the key recommendations that involves IRCC is to establish a process with CBSA to ensure that any new information impacting a removal order entered into the database is accurate and timely (i.e. 30 days from receipt of the decision by DOJ).
• The progress towards these responses to the recommendations are being reported through the Departmental Audit Committee.