IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2021: Risk Management & Program Integrity in the Operations Sector

Risk Management & Program Integrity: Overview

• Managing risks assures Canadians, partners and the international community that IRCC’s decisions are well-founded and support the economic prosperity of Canada.
• Program integrity requires a multi-faceted approach to analyze, identify, and mitigate IRCC’s program risks.
• Risk management is a responsibility shared across the Department in Operations, Corporate Services, and Strategic & Program Policy. Within Operations, the Integrity Risk Management Branch (IRMB) – the Department’s central authority for program integrity – identifies and mitigates operational risks across immigration programs.

Principles of Managing Risk & Program Integrity

• Comprehensive Risk Identification & Analysis
• Assessment & Reporting of Risk
• Responding to Emerging Global Migration Trends
• Risk Mitigation Adjustment & Improvement
• Enhancement of Client Experiences

Risk Management & Program Integrity: Scope

The Minister of IRCC is mandated to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians, while facilitating legitimate travel and integration of newcomers to maximize their contributions to the economy.

Managing the integrity of IRCC’s programs is a shared responsibility

• IRCC’s bilateral and multilateral partnerships (CBSA, RCMP, CSIS, provinces/territories & international partners), face-to-face interactions with clients (e.g. interviews) and outreach are effective avenues to support program integrity intelligence and to share program integrity concerns, best practices, and lessons learned.

To respond effectively, program integrity measures need to be:

• structured and flexible to appropriately manage risk from unpredictable migration patterns, an ever changing threat landscape, and growing demand; and 
• evidence-based, adaptive, technologically enhanced and defensible.

Risk Management & Program Integrity: Current State

Within the Department, high-level operational program integrity risks include:

• Criminality & Human Smuggling
• Security
• Health & Safety
• Fraud & Abuse
• Volumes & Processing Pressures

Current trends that IRCC is managing in collaboration with partners:

Identity Fraud

• IRCC is considered an authoritative source of identity management. Establishing identity is one of our key priorities.

Inadmissible Clients

• Protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians is a mandate priority.

System Abuse

• Document and relationship fraud, unchecked agents, both in Canada and overseas, utilizing unscrupulous methods to exploit our systems.

Risk Management & Program Integrity: Opportunities

Prioritize program integrity

• Ensure integrity risks are managed through consistent and defensible processes, both in program decisions and in case processing

2021-2023 immigration levels

• Continue building on and enhancing integrated risk management practices to support growth in immigration levels

IRCC digital transformation

• Integrate risk management principles within the Department’s digitization of programs and services (e.g. advance analytics pilots)

Operations sector anti-bias commitments

• Establish a hub of expertise to develop a framework for identifying, assessing and mitigating bias within risk management and operations

Risk Management & Program Integrity: Impact of COVID-19

Operational Delivery

COVID-19 led the Department to:

• Orders in Council restricting border crossings and imposing travel restrictions
• Contraction of IRCC operational footprint, reliance on teleworking, shift in service delivery
• Targeted priority lines of business based on urgent critical service needs

Program Integrity Controls

Necessary changes in operational execution have impeded controls to ensure program integrity:

• Physical contact and client interaction (e.g. interview, front-facing services)
• Partner services supporting identity and admissibility management (e.g. biometrics)
• Ability to review physical documents, passports and issue visa counterfoils
• Risk management capacity, reporting and liaison activities on migration or fraud trends, regular interaction with international partners (e.g. M5, IOM, UNHCR)

Operational Response

To ensure program integrity, the Department:

• Increased its use of Ministerial Instructions and public policies
• Managed risks related to clients’ ability to meet application requirements
• Leveraged new digital platforms to complete statutory requirements (e.g. virtual landings)

Risk Management & Program Integrity: Key Takeaways

Anticipate

• dynamic and complex challenges to global migration and security landscape to respond in a coordinated, agile and flexible manner.

Remain

• competitive in the global tourism market, a country of choice for new citizens, and respected worldwide for our passport integrity.

Reinforce

• Canada’s reputation and tradition as a welcoming and humanitarian country, while safeguarding program integrity.

A coordinated and informed risk management regime is essential to responsibly achieve economic growth and maintain confidence in Canada’s immigration system.