IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2025-05

Logistics and Reference Information

Context

This brief provides logistical and reference information of key corporate services and responsibilities.

There are a number of protocols in place to ensure your security. An in-person briefing on these measures will be held soon after your arrival.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Corporate Security coordinates with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Protective Services on security matters. This requires sharing your agenda and travel schedule with IRCC Corporate Security in a timely manner.
Threat and risk assessments (TRAs) are conducted by the RCMP in collaboration with law enforcement agencies on your behalf, with regard to all domestic and international activities and public invitations.
TRAs of your residence(s) are conducted by the House of Commons in collaboration with IRCC Corporate Security within the first 90 days of you taking office. A TRA of your constituency office is also completed in collaboration with the House of Commons Security.
IRCC Corporate Security will provide security awareness sessions for your staff on request.

The Deputy Minister’s Office (DMO) has two dedicated teams to support you in all day-to-day operations and in your key interactions with the Department.
- Led by the Departmental Assistant, DMO21 is your key contact for all interactions with the Department outside the direct relationship between the Deputy Minister and the Minister. DMO21 also coordinates support and logistics for the Minister for official travel (domestic and international), engagements with stakeholders, and government-related parliamentary duties (e.g., committee appearances).
- DMO Corporate Services is your contact for help with human resources, financial, and corporate issues (e.g., information technology [IT] assets, building passes, issues with facilities, etc.).

To ensure high-quality briefing products, this team coordinates, edits, and packages briefing materials provided to you by the Department.
In 2024–2025, the Briefings Unit reviewed 347 memoranda addressed to the Minister and produced 165 binders.

Receives, triages, records, and responds to correspondence addressed to you.
Provides statistical reports on correspondence volumes, trends, and service standard adherence rates.
The Ministerial Enquiries Division provides 97% of the answers sent directly to clients and correspondents (more than 20,000 in fiscal year 2024–2025). The majority of these are case enquiries from IRCC clients.

Access to Information Act: Provides access to corporate records (e.g., memoranda, briefing notes, reports, etc.).
Privacy Act: Provides individuals access to their own personal information and protects the privacy of individuals with respect to their personal information.
The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) are responsible for overseeing compliance with the Acts. IRCC has collaborative working relationships with both the OIC and OPC.
In the fiscal year 2024–2025, IRCC received over 270,000 ATIP requests (a 7% increase from the previous year), representing more than 60% of all ATIP requests to the Government of Canada.
The majority (99%) of IRCC’s ATIP requests are from applicants seeking their immigration record information.
Privacy breaches at IRCC are significant. In 2024–2025, IRCC reported 8,052 privacy breaches, while in 2023–2024, privacy breaches at IRCC impacted over 137,000 individuals.
Between March 2023 and September 2024, IRCC accounts for 38% of the Government of Canada’s reported 20,000+ privacy breaches (21% overall in previous years).

Reduce the ATIP backlog;
Improve the availability of client information, which in turn is anticipated to alleviate undue pressure on the broader ATIP regime; and
Improve IRCC’s handling of personal information, including privacy policy instruments, as well as improved privacy breach reporting and management processes.

Since 2019, all federal departments must publish the following materials online:
- Titles of briefing notes and memoranda addressed to Ministers and Deputy Ministers (monthly);
- Question Period notes prepared for Ministers (30 days after the last sitting day in June and December);
- Transition and parliamentary committee appearance binders prepared for Ministers and Deputy Ministers (120 days after appointment/appearance); and
- All Ministers’ Office contracts and amendments over $10,000.
Departments must also proactively publish other components according to timelines:
- Travel and hospitality expenses for all Minister’s Office staff and senior management of the Department (monthly); and
- Annual report of all expenses incurred by a Minister’s Office (within 120 days after the fiscal year-end).
Names and titles of ministerial staff are not considered personal information and will be disclosed through ATIP requests.

Information must be handled, protected, and secured according to its designation or classification.
Paper documents should be segregated into different cabinets according to the category of information and their designation or classification.
Electronic documents up to Protected B must be saved in GCDocs in the appropriate folder.
All decisions captured in an electronic conversation (i.e., MS Teams) must be transferred to GCDocs.
- Discussions on IRCC devices using Microsoft Teams and Outlook can include information up to Protected B. When using Government of Canada smartphones and cell phones, text (SMS) messaging must remain unclassified while phone conversations can include information up to Protected A. Communications on personal phones must remain unclassified.
Your personal email address is not to be used to conduct IRCC business activities.
Social media tools that operate beyond IRCC systems are not to be used to conduct Government of Canada business.
Before disposing of information or transferring records, be aware of ongoing legal holds and ATIP requests.
Ministers are ultimately responsible for the proper processing, handling, and storage of information in their office. It is recommended that Ministers’ Offices identify one person to oversee information management practices.

As per the Treasury Board Directive on Delegation of Spending and Financial Authorities requirements, we will send you the Departmental Delegation of Spending and Financial Authorities Instrument within 90 calendar days of your appointment, for your approval.
The appointment of a new Minister does not nullify existing authorities.
Responsibility for the budgetary control and spending of public money is placed on Ministers and Deputy Ministers by Parliament through the Appropriation Acts, Financial Administration Act and Financial Administration Act Regulations.
All expenditures incurred by the Department must be approved in accordance with the Financial Administration Act.

An open, transparent, and merit-based selection process for Governor in Council appointments was established in February 2016.
As a Member of the King’s Privy Council of Canada and responsible Minister, you will be asked to recommend to Cabinet Governor in Council appointments for two organizations under your portfolio: Immigration and Refugee Board and Citizenship Judges.