PACP - Status of Integrated Claim Analysis Centre (ICAC) in Toronto - Nov 24, 2020

Key messages

• The goal of the Integrated Claim Analysis Centre (ICAC) pilot is to streamline processing, find efficiencies in the current in‑Canada asylum system, ensure that decision-makers have all relevant information in a timely manner, and to maintain the integrity of the system.
• In response to the Auditor General’s recommendation, the Integrated Claim Analysis Centre demonstrates the commitment to effectively and proactively share information in support of program integrity of the in-Canada asylum system.
• Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) are working together to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the asylum system in order to better serve Canada’s refugee protection goals, on an ongoing basis.

Supplementary messages

• The Integrated Claim Analysis Centre has been fully implemented with the launch of the final phase in November 2020, which focuses on bringing end-to-end case tracking and prioritization functions.
• In line with the Detailed Action Plan responding to the Office of the Auditor General’s May 2019 Asylum Report, an Interim Report that outlines early accomplishments, challenges and recommendations on the way forward was endorsed by the Asylum System Management Board in October 2020.
• As processes in the Asylum System are heavily paper-based, COVID-19 had an impact on operations, significant effort was expended to ensure business continuity, including the implementation of electronic solutions:
  • Seamless transition to remote work arrangement for staff to lessen the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the service delivery;
  • The adoption of Canada Post’s e-post Connect for document exchange and sharing with the Immigration and Refugee Board, and claimants and/or counsels to reduce the impact of mail service interruption, and
  • Using Microsoft Teams to allow officers to participate in virtual hearings conducted by the Immigration and Refugee Board as part of the broader In-Canada asylum program business reintegration and to give claimants options regarding the manner in which they wish to have their claims adjudicated.
• A number of improvements to the Global Case Management System have been made to facilitate processes. For example, the introduction of an intervention process in Global Case Management System will allow for our staff to work in one system instead of two.
• Further improvements to existing digital interfaces as part of the Asylum Interoperability Project are expected to provide exchange of real-time information among the organizations and to support the shift to a digital processing environment. For example, the introduction of electronic applications for refugee claimants and the secure transfer of electronic documents between organizations.
• The ICAC pilot has helped establish effective communication channels between the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) – this, in turn, has helped ensure smoother operations across all 3 organizations.

Supporting facts and figures

To date (as of November 14, 2020) –

• 11,886 claims included in the pilot
• 7968 scheduling-ready packages prepared for the RPD
• 612 pilot claims have been finalized
• The Toronto pilot is funded to analyse and prepare all claims being heard by the Immigration and Refugee Board in Toronto. This represents approximately 55% of national intake volumes or 27,500 claims on a projected 50,000 claims annually.

Background

• The Integrated Claims Analysis Centre (ICAC) was launched in September 2019 as a trilateral pilot project implemented collaboratively by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), with the objective to analyse 55% of anticipated national intake, test new approaches to prioritizing and tracking claims, increase processing efficiency, and address program integrity concerns.
• The development and implementation of the ICAC rolled out in three phases over 2019-2020, and 2020-2021.
  • Phase I focused on Pre-hearing at the Refugee Protection Division and launched in September 2019
  • Phase II focused on post-decision at the Refugee Protection Division and launched in February 2020
  • Phase III focuses on bringing end-to-end case tracking and prioritization functions and launched in November 2020