IRCC Deputy Minister Transition Binder 2022: Welcome letter from the Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Dear Deputy Minister Fox,

Welcome to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). I am very pleased with your appointment as the new Deputy Minister; I can say with confidence that you will be managing one of the most dynamic and interesting portfolios in government. I expect the mandate and the people of this organization will have an impact on you as they did me. If you talk to other past Deputy Ministers of IRCC, we all seem to feel this sense of passion and commitment from this organization, and it is because of its people at the heart of it.

IRCC selects and welcomes, as permanent and temporary residents, foreign nationals whose skills will contribute to Canada’s economic prosperity. Our immigration programs also reunite family members, and we welcome refugees and others in need of protection. To protect the health, safety and security of Canadians, we screen potential immigrants and collaborate closely with key enforcement partners under the Public Safety portfolio. IRCC is also responsible for the issuance and control of Canadian citizenship, as well as passports and other travel documents that facilitate the travel of Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons. I think you got a good sense of what we do, and how we do it based on recent discussions. In general, IRCC is a well-oiled machine, and it knows how to do good policy and deliver operations. They know how to deliver in a crisis.

The Executive Committee team is made up of strong Senior Assistant and Assistant Deputy Ministers. They are ready to support you, and a series of briefings are already set up to ensure you get a great overview and deep dive of the priority files. This team knows its stuff, and they will always give you their best advice. We are also identifying some key meetings, stakeholders and/or trips that you will need to note in short order. This Department’s partnership and stakeholders are vast, and they each play a key role in support of the implementation of this mandate.

As travel restrictions ease, we are seeing significant growth across our lines of business that will require us to continue our transformation agenda to make our IT systems, policies and application processing more agile and responsive to the needs of Canadians including better supporting the Canadian labour market and vulnerable populations. We have a plan, and we have been given some money. I highly recommend you spend some time understanding the Digital Platform Modernization Agenda, as this is our way into a digital and client service oriented future. There are key decisions that Jason Choueri, your ADM of Digital, Strategy, Services and Innovation Sector will bring to your attention shortly. They will be key to the discussions you will have assuming you will become a member of the DM Core.

In recognition of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we have taken several significant steps in response to the Clerk’s Call to Action on addressing systemic racism in the government, and we have established ourselves as leaders within the Government of Canada in combatting racism in all its forms. To accomplish this, we have established an Anti-Racism Secretariat led by Farahldine Boisclair, who reports to the Associate Deputy Minister. We have conducted dozens of Town Halls to hear from experts and from employees, and we have proposed a plan of action to increase the representativeness within our senior ranks. We have recently launched the 2nd version of the Strategy. While we have much work to do, we are incredibly proud of our achievements, and we look forward to your active leadership in these important efforts.

The other enterprise priority is the Future of Work initiative. We have been working on this for over 18 months. We have a plan, and its full implementation is expected the week of September 6, 2022. This is led by Simon Cardinal, Director General, who also reports to the Associate Deputy Minister. He will be able to provide you with a complete update [Redacted].

[Redacted] But I know I leave you in the very capable hands of the Senior Advisors in the Deputy Minister’s Office who are here to help you get settled in, and to answer any questions you have. They are a dedicated team of people who are very professional and capable.

I wanted to also give you a heads that some other members of your Senior Management team are currently away on well-deserved leave, and others are about to take some time off in August. I trust you will be supportive given they have been working tirelessly over the last several months. I encouraged the taking of the holidays given some had theirs cancelled during the last fiscal year due to the many crises. They will come back well rested and energized to fully support you and Associate Deputy Minister, Scott Harris.

This binder contains material that will help you transition into your new role and act as reference documents throughout your tenure.

I look forward to working closely with you and supporting you in this transition [Redacted].

Congratulations and kindest regards,

Caroline Xavier

Associate Deputy Minister

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada