IRCC Deputy Minister Transition Binder 2019 – Accomplishments Placement
Accomplishments Completed
2019-21 Multi-Year Levels Plan
- Tabled first multi-year growth plan in 2017 and updated plan in 2018 with growth to 2021 and 350,000.
- Levels Implementation: 2018 target of 310,000 exceeded at 321,121.
Operation Syria
- Welcomed 26,172 Syrian refugees (November 2015 – February 2016).
Welcome Refugees
- Ambitious admission targets planned for 2019-2021. 2018 admissions of 45,764 exceeds target of 43,000 for welcoming refugees and protected persons.
Survivors of Daesh
- Surpassed commitment to resettle 1,200 with over 1,400 welcomed. ‘Temporary Public Policy Supporting Family Reunification of Survivors of Daesh’ completed.
[REDACTED]
Global Compacts and Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GRSI)
- Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees adopted Dec 2018. New GRSI countries resettling over 1,000 refugees through sponsorship.
Irregular Migration
- Intergovernmental Task Force in place; secured Budget 2018 funding for IRCC and partners; secured interim housing funding for provinces/ municipalities.
LGBTQ2 Refugees
- Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership announced June 1, 2019; support 50 LGBTQ2 PSRs/year starting Jan 1, 2020.
Designated Countries of Origin
- Ministerial Order came into force May 10, 2019, removing all countries from Designated Countries of Origin (DCO) list, [REDACTED] (announced May 17, 2019).
Africa Action Plan
- Successfully addressed processing challenges at missions serving Africa.
Vulnerable women and girls
- Working with UNHCR to resettle 800 in 2019 to complete Budget 2018 commitment (1,000 additional women and girls); 200 already resettled in 2018.
Visa policy framework
- Review completed; [REDACTED] revisions to the Framework in June 2019.
Atlantic Immigration Pilot
- Almost 1,500 people admitted to Atlantic Canada in 2018, and dedicated service channel supported 400+ employers.
Express Entry
- Additional points awarded for siblings and French language abilities in June 2017. In 2018, 4.5% of invitations issued to French speakers.
Global Skills Strategy
- Launched in June 2017 to assist companies in attracting top talent. After 2 years, nearly 40,000 people have come to Canada (24,000 workers and 16,000 accompanying family members) and dedicated service channel has assisted over 135 employers. ESDC’s Global Talent Stream made permanent (Budget 2019).
International Students
- Additional points in Express Entry awarded to those who have studied in Canada, making PR easier. Citizenship legislative changes came into force in Oct 2017, providing greater flexibility for students who want to become Canadian citizens. Budget 2019 announced Canada’s International Education Strategy. [REDACTED].
Youth Mobility Agreements
- Through IEC, Canada has agreements with 34 countries. MOU signed November 2018 with Portugal.
Francophone Immigration Strategy
- Secured Budget 2018 funding as part of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023; launched Francophone Immigration Strategy in March 2019 (including the Francophone Integration Pathway) to recruit/retain French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec; continued FPT engagement.
Visible Minority Newcomer Women Pilot
- Secured Budget 2018 funding to address barriers to access job market. Launched 3-year pilot Dec 2018. News release on June 6 on 22 organizations selected.
Gender X
- Launched June 4, 2019, new gender “X” identifier can be printed in passport, travel document, citizenship certificate or permanent resident card. Fee waived for replacement of current documents with gender “X” until June 4, 2020.
Settlement Services
- National settlement vision reflected in 2019 Call for Proposals; implemented Canada Connects; streamlined pre-arrival services; implemented co-planning with PTs; 50,000+ newcomers sent outcomes surveys; strengthened outcomes analysis capacity; reduced clients waiting for language training by 58%; streamlined Contribution Agreement management; initiated 100+ Service Delivery Improvement projects. Syrian Outcomes Reportcompleted, posted online on July 23, 2019.
Client Service
- Actioned set of client service priorities including changing how we communicate processing times; providing case status progress bar in MyIRCC (for Express Entry); reviewed and established service standards for a number of services and launched social media chatbot ‘Quaid’. Budget 2019 funding secured: $42.9M over 2 years for client service improvements (access to Client Support Centre and local offices). OAG Report on Call Centres released May 7, 2019. Management commitments include publishing service standards for the Call Centre and other service improvements.
Processing
- [REDACTED] Caregiver [REDACTED], with new applicants processed in 12 months or less. As of December 2018, 80% of new spouse/partner apps finalized within 12 months.
[REDACTED]
Citizenship Oath
- Bill C-99 introduced in Parliament on May 28, 2019, to change Canada’s Oath of Citizenship to include references to the rights and treaties of Indigenous peoples.
Citizenship Guide
- All preparatory work on draft guide and aids for teachers / applicants completed. [REDACTED]
Visa Policy
- Mexico, Romania, Bulgaria, and United Arab Emirates visa lifted. Visa lifted for select low-risk nationals of Brazil (eTA expansion). Visa imposed on Antigua and Barbuda.
Biometrics
- Implemented expansion to all temporary resident and permanent resident applicants.
Excessive Demand
- Public policy in place June 2018 easing requirements to promote inclusion in Canadian society.
Age of Dependents
- Definition expanded in Oct 2017 from “under 19” to “under 22” to help keep families together in Canada.
Advanced Analytics
- Pilots underway on Temporary Resident Visa application processing from China (April 2018) and India (August 2018). 106,785 China e-apps and 79,256 India e-Apps have been triaged, where straight forward cases are processed nearly 90% faster, and more complex cases are processed 20% faster.
Parents and Grandparents
- Increased cap to 20,000 in 2019. Implemented new expression of interest intake system in January 2019.
Sponsored Spouses and Partners
- Repealed requirement of conditional residency in April 2017.
Temporary Resident Volumes
- Operational adjustments including targeted effort in India to address immediate volume pressures.
Air Transit
- Review completed; [REDACTED] minor enhancements to Canada’s two [REDACTED] transit programs in June 2019.
Citizenship Act
- Changes legislated in June 2017 (C-6); all amendments in force with processing tools and procedures updated.
VAC Contracting
- Successful transition to the new VAC contract in Asia, Asia Pacific and the Americas. Within the last year, 18 additional VAC locations have opened (current total: 153 VACs in 104 countries). More VACs expected in late 2019 when VACs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa transition to the new contract.
Passport
- Canadian Passport Order amended to support the use of electronic and automated tools and systems for processing and decision-making, and clarify specific cancellation and revocation provisions. Under Passport Program Modernization Initiative, contracting in place now for next generation passports in 2020.
Interim Federal Health Program
- Health coverage fully restored to eligible beneficiaries in April 2016. Budget 2019 secured $283M over 2 years for increased number of eligible claimants.
Temporary Foreign Workers
- In 2019, announced additional 2,000 NOC “C” nominations under the Provincial Nominee Program to further pathways to PR on March 12; announced the new regulations on May 31 to allow temporary foreign workers who have employer-specific work permits, and are facing abuse in relation to their job in Canada, to apply for an open work permit, therefore reducing their vulnerability (come into force June 4).
Caregivers
- Interim Pathway for Caregivers public policy for some in-Canada caregivers was open March 4 to June 4, 2019. The two new 5-year pilots opened for applications on June 18, 2019, to replace existing pilots (announced June 15, 2019).
Asylum
- Budget 2019 funding is $1.18B/5 years to support implementation of Border Enforcement Strategy ($172.6M/5 years, $16.6M ongoing for IRCC) and increased capacity of the asylum system ($270.8M/5 years, $8.84M ongoing for IRCC). [REDACTED] Budget Implementation Act (Royal Assent on June 21, 2019) amended IRPA to support these investments. [REDACTED]
Consultants
- B2019: $45M over 5 years and $8M ongoing. Budget Implementation Act (Royal Assent on June 21, 2019) included College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act and amendments to IRPA and Citizenship Act.
Construction Workers
- Temporary public policy: PR for 500 out-of-status construction workers in GTA. [REDACTED]. Web notice July 5, 2019. January 2020 implementation.
Near-Completion
Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot
- Minister announced 11 community partners on June 14, 2019, following the open call for community interest (received 51 applications). Work has begun to set these communities up to implement the pilot locally. Ministerial Instructions to be published in August 2019 (TBC), with the pilot expected to open in fall 2019 for applications by PR candidates.
Agri-Food Pilot
- The Minister announced the Pilot on July 12, 2019, with implementation planned for early 2020. The publication date for Ministerial Instructions is August 31, 2019 (TBC).
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