IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2025-05

Ministerial Centre for Members of Parliament & Senators and the Ministerial Inquiries Liaison

Service Delivery Sector May 2025

Overview

• Summary
• Ministerial Centre for Members of Parliament & Senators
• Background/Context
• Services Offered
• Services Offered—Liaison Services
• Services Offered—Critical and Urgent, or Complex Enquiries
• Services Offered—Submission of Documents on behalf of Constituents
• Services Offered—Engagement Sessions
• Services Offered—Application Status Tracker
• Ministerial Inquiries Liaison
• Background/Context
• Services Offered
• Key Takeaways/Next Steps
• Post Election Transition

Summary

• Since 2016, the Ministerial Centre for Members of Parliament and Senators (MCMPS) has been the main IRCC point of contact for the offices of Members of Parliament (MPs), Senators (SOs), and their designated staff. MCMPS provides the necessary information so that they can in turn assist their constituents with their applications.

On MCMPS, this briefing is intended to:

• Provide general information about MCMPS and list the current services offered.
• Outline the ways in which MCMPS clients can access these services and provide details on the process.
• Highlight future IRCC opportunities for engagement with MPs on MCMPS services, notably through information sessions.

For the Minister and designated staff, the Department has a streamlined direct service channel. This Ministerial Inquiries Liaison (MIL) is a dedicated support channel for the Minister and designated staff to support application-specific enquiries and issues.

On MIL, this briefing is intended to:

• Introduce the Ministerial Inquiries Liaison service, its scope, as well as how to contact them

Ministerial Centre for Members of Parliament & Senators (MCMPS)—Background/Context

What is MCMPS?

• The MCMPS is a specialized service designed to support Members of Parliament, Senators, and their designated staff.
• This service is offered through a dedicated online appointment booking system, at the Client Support Centre, enabling streamlined communication and efficient assistance.

Role of MCMPS

• Information provider: MCMPS agents provide reliable sources of information on immigration, refugee, and citizenship matters. They guide MPs, SOs, and their staff by offering clarity on processes, procedures, and relevant policies. However, it is important to note that MCMPS agents do not have decision-making authority over individual applications or cases; therefore, they do not render decisions on applications.
• Constituent support: The MCMPS serves as an intermediary in assisting MPs, SOs and their staff in providing reliable information to their constituents. Using specialized tools and resources, MCMPS agents provide insights into the status and progress of constituents' applications. This function ensures that MPs and SOs can stay informed and offer constituents appropriate guidance and reliable information.

MCMPS—Services Offered

List of MCMPS Services

There are five main services offered by MCMPS:

1. Liaison Services
2. Urgent, Complex, Critical Enquiries
3. Submission of Documents on Behalf of Constituents
4. Engagement Sessions
5. Application Status Tracker

Liaison Services

Overview of service:

• This is a modernized channel to allow MPs, SOs, and their staff to book an appointment to contact IRCC and inquire about programs or active applications involving their constituents. This is designated solely for calls related to general and case-specific enquiries.
• Appointment availabilities open two weeks in advance. If times are not available, a waitlist is offered for the next day with last-minute appointments. Efforts are made to accommodate those on the waitlist as much as possible.
• An MCMPS agent will contact the MP or Senator’s office directly, ensuring that they do not experience high wait times to speak to an agent.
• There were approximately 74 000 completed appointments through the MCMPS Liaison Service last fiscal year (2024–2025).

How to access this:

• MCMPS clients can access [Redacted]
  • [Redacted]
  • [Redacted]

Critical and Urgent, or Complex Enquiries:

Overview of service:

• This service is designated solely for critical, urgent, or complex case enquiries.

How to access this:

• MPs, SOs and their designated staff can send an email to the MCMPS dedicated inbox from [Redacted]
• In their email, they should provide their availabilities, and a program officer will contact them.
• If an email does not meet the criteria for critical, urgent, or complex cases, the sender will be notified within 24 business hours and encouraged to book an online appointment to speak with an MCMPS agent.

Critical Cases

• Cases that require action within 24 hours
• Examples: cases requiring imminent removal, life or death situations, etc.
• Responded to within one business day.

Urgent or Complex Cases

• Cases meeting urgent processing criteria set forth in IRCC’s Program Delivery Instructions.
• Examples: Technical issues with Liaison Services, cases involving vulnerable clients, etc.
• Complex cases requiring policy analysis or explanation.
• Examples: cases involving enforcement, criminality, etc.
• Responded to within two business days.

Submission of Documents on behalf of Constituents:

Overview of service:

• MCMPS clients can submit documents related to their constituents’ applications without an appointment.
• Documents are uploaded to the client’s application typically within one to two business days (service standard is five business days).

How to access this:

• MCMPS clients can send the documents via email to the MCMPS dedicated inbox: [Redacted]
• There are template instructions available to ensure successful document uploads. Failed attempts will receive a failure notice.
• Once successful document uploads are received, they are promptly associated with the relevant client’s application to ensure seamless processing.

Engagement Sessions

Overview of Service: These are engagement sessions designed to foster understanding and collaboration between IRCC and Parliamentarians.

• Past engagement sessions: The last engagement session with Parliamentary Offices was held in February 2025. MCMPS provided additional clarity on the services offered, ensuring MPs, SOs and their staff have the necessary tools to support their constituents effectively.
• Future engagement sessions: An information session will be held post-election in May 2025 for newly elected MPs. Following this, the Department will host a yearly engagement session with MP offices aligned with the return of Parliament in the fall. This session has a component dedicated to MCMPS. In addition, MCMPS will also host biannual, dedicated engagement sessions.

How to access this:

• A meeting invitation is sent out to the MCMPS distribution list and MCMPS clients join the engagement session via a Microsoft Teams call.

Application Status Tracker (AST)

Overview of service:

• Allows MPs, SOs and their designated staff to track the status of their constituents' applications through a self-serve tool.
• Currently this is only available for certain lines of business, such as Study Permit, Work Permit, Visitor Visa, Express Entry, as well as the Sponsorship of a Spouse, Partner or Dependent Child.
• MPs and SOs must have written authorization from the applicant to use the AST.

How to access this:

• MCMPS clients can access [Redacted]
  • [Redacted]
  • [Redacted]

Ministerial Inquiries Liaison (MIL)—Background/Context

What is MIL?

• High-profile, complex, sensitive and contentious cases arise in many circumstances, not only in relation to applications associated with IRCC programs, but also from individuals seeking to enter Canada at ports of entry (POEs).
• The Department has established a direct line with IRCC’s Minister’s Office (MINO) for case specific inquiries where responses are provided in a timely manner.
• The Ministerial Inquiries Liaison provides a direct line to IRCC’s Minister and their office.

List of MIL Services

• Case information—providing status updates in response to inquiries received or proactively sharing information on cases where there already is or where there could be media attention.
• Case resolution—reviewing and resolving issues present, when appropriate.
• Case advice—preparing instructions or direction/guidance, at the Minister’s request, for officers to consider when assessing certain applications.

Time frames

• Critical cases (life or death situations, imminent removals, etc.): actioned as a priority. 
• Urgent or complex cases (involving vulnerable clients or immediacy of issue): up to two business days.
• Time sensitive: up to five business days.
• Non-time sensitive: up to 10 business days.

How to access this

• [Redacted]
• In case of escalation, by contacting the Assistant Deputy Minister of Service Delivery, Pemi Gill (Pemi.Gill@cic.gc.ca or [Redacted]

Key Takeaways/Next Steps

• MCMPS is preparing for the post-election environment and future engagement through the following steps:
  • May 2025:
    • After the election, information sessions will be held by MCMPS for newly elected MPs and their designated staff. MCMPS will contact clients and give them an introduction to this service.
    • An onboarding package, which includes a welcome email, MCMPS guidelines, and Liaison Services Job-aid will be sent following the election (targeting the week of May 5).
  • Sept 2025:
    • Engagement session to be held by IRCC’s Parliamentary Affairs.
  • Fall 2025:
    • Transition to Digital Platform Modernization Phase 3 with enhancements through various capabilities introduced by the new Client Relationships Management platform.

Post-Election Transition

MP Office Onboarding

Overview of service:

• Newly elected MPs and their staff will receive comprehensive onboarding support, which includes detailed guidance on how to use the Liaison Services. They will receive details on the process for contacting MCMPS to assist on behalf of their constituents and to ensure a seamless navigation of these services.

How to access this:

• Immediately after an election, a series of information sessions will be offered to newly elected MPs along with their staff, which include onboarding sessions, group sessions, and one-on-one sessions.
• In addition, information guides will be distributed via the Liaison Services to newly elected MPs. Information guides are also available on the Liaison Services platform. MCMPS agents will contact new MPs to help them set up their Liaison Services accounts.
• During onboarding, a support week will be provided for any additional technical support. This will include a technical support line, which will be activated for one week (or longer if needed) following the first information session to support MP offices with technical issues they experience when using Liaison Services.