IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2025-05

High-Profile Case Management

Service Channels to the Minister’s Office and Members of Parliament

Migration Integrity
May 2025

Overview

• What is a High-Profile Case
• Service Channel to the Minister’s Office
• Information Shared with the Minister’s Office
• Service Channel to Members of Parliament
• Ministerial Centre for Members of Parliament and Senators
• Case Details Shared with Members of Parliament
• International Affairs and Crisis Response’s Direct Cases Line

What is a High-Profile Case

High-Profile Cases Can Involve a Variety of Situations

• Senior management/political attention: Prime Minister’s Office, Privy Council Office, Deputy Ministers, Assistant Deputy Ministers
• Serious admissibility concerns: security, human rights violations, serious criminality, organized crime
• Other federal or provincial government departments’ interest: disputes with another government authority, federal-provincial issues, senior members of foreign governments, potential bilateral implications
• Media attention: applicants with public profiles, media interest or coverage—both foreign and domestic, highly publicized cultural or sporting events and international conventions
• Other exceptional circumstances: case mishandling, precedent setting, applications for permanent residence where the principal applicant is terminally ill or has passed away, medical issues

Service Channel to the Minister’s Office

As of April 1, 2025, the Service Delivery Sector:

• Provides briefings and information to the Minister via senior management on high profile immigration, passport and citizenship cases.
• Prepares instructions or direction/guidance, at the Minister’s request, for officers to consider when taking decisions on certain applications.
• Responds to media queries from the Communications Sector and requests from the Ministerial Enquiries Division, and prepares Question Period notes.

On call function (urgent cases only)
Monday to Friday: 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Weekends and statutory holidays: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Information Shared with the Minister’s Office

• Cases that have the potential to create bilateral irritants.
• Information on cases where media attention is likely or the case is already in the media.
• Information on cases where the Minister may have to respond to Parliament in Question Period or to elected representatives.

Service Channel to Members of Parliament

The Service Delivery Sector:

• IRCC point of contact for information on immigration, refugee and citizenship matters as well as certificate of identity documents and refugee travel documents.
• Liaison Services—Appointment-based system with easy booking, cancellation, and account management allowing for flexible scheduling with coast-to-coast timeslots.
• Acts on files in accordance with established guidelines, while providing insights on high-priority complex/urgent or critical cases.
• Hours of operations are Mondays to Fridays from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm EDT to provide 8:00 am to 4:00 pm service across Canada.

The Ministerial Centre for Members of Parliament and Senators

The Ministerial Centre for Members of Parliament and Senators (MCMPS) team strives to provide excellence in service to our MPs and Senators as they build relationships with MP offices and assistants.

How can the MCMPS team assist?

• MCMPS agents are here to provide information and assist with constituents’ applications using available tools and resources.
• MCMPS agents cannot make decisions on constituents’ applications.

High profile complex/urgent and critical cases

• Complex/urgent cases are responded to within two business days.
• Critical cases are responded to within 24 business hours.

Case Details Shared with Members of Parliament

• Case status
• Notes from previous enquiries
• Confirmation of documents or information reception
• Open-source information 
• Pending information to continue processing the application

International Affairs and Crisis Response’s Direct Cases Line

• Provides status updates on high-profile and sensitive case inquiries from the Minister’s Office for all crisis-related cases (e.g., Afghanistan, Gaza, Sudan).
• Analyzes high-profile cases in relation to corresponding public policies and delivers responses to the Minister’s Office.
• Collaborates with internal partners to resolve issues and issue documents, where needed.
• Reports on crisis-related inquiries and ad hoc analyses of specific cohorts of interest to the Minister’s Office.