Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Oct. 18th, 2011

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Is the department considering putting caps on applications for parents?

[Les Linklater]

I think, as I said earlier, as we get into the conversation around backlog and managing the longer-term policy options, the minister will have views that he'll want to express.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I just want to come back to understand this number.

In 2006 the government inherited a backlog of 850,000. It's now grown to one million, five years later. But in that time you have cut the backlog in skilled workers, and you testified today that family class applications have declined. Then where is the increase coming from that has led to the backlog?

[Les Linklater]

If I could clarify, what we have done is reduce the backlog of the applications of skilled workers who applied before February of 2008. So that number has declined from 640 to 314. With ministerial instructions, MI-1, we received more applications than we had anticipated, and that has added back to the overall skilled worker backlog. So that is one of the issues we've dealt with.

With regard to family class overall, as I've mentioned, the applications of spouses, partners, and children are placed into immediate processing. There is no backlog in that category. Where we have seen the increase in family class backlog is with parents and grandparents.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Now, in terms of refugees, there is no cap on refugees. I believe that under the legislation passed in 2008, there is no cap placed on those numbers. Is that right?

[Les Linklater]

If I could clarify, we put no limit on the number of individuals who can claim asylum in Canada in any given year. After the determination by the IRB, if someone is deemed to be in need of protection, they are then invited to apply for permanent residence.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you.

[Les Linklater]

Where we do—

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

I'm sorry. Go ahead.

[Les Linklater]

If I could just finish, we do have targets for resettlement of refugees from overseas, under both the government-assisted category and the privately sponsored category, where we're moving to increase those numbers, further to legislation passed in 2010.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you, sir.

We'll now return to a seven-minute round.

Go ahead, Mr. Dykstra.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

Thank you.

One of the major issues or clarifications that I think we need to identify here—and I wanted to get both of your comments on it—is that you can look back over the last six years on the investment change in policy, change in legislation in terms of dealing with and processing applications with respect to immigration. I think a lot of people are under the misunderstanding that the time of processing is what's causing the backlog.

I'd really like to get a clarification from you. In describing the actual processing time or the actual process of an application as not being the foundation of the delay, in fact based on the fact that we have such a high backlog that is skewing our numbers. In real effect, if we could actually deal with this backlog, it will clearly show that processing is actually fairly efficient in most of the areas that we cover with respect to immigration.

[Claudette Deschênes]

Maybe I'll start by saying that is absolutely correct. When we look at the time it takes to actively put a file in processing to finalization, those numbers haven't changed that drastically over the years. What has changed is that the application needs to stay pending until you can move it into active processing. When you move it into active processing is directly tied to the levels plan that we have each year.

There are certain things we as a department can do in terms of ensuring that applications come in,in a more complete way, but the bottom line is they don't get put into active processing in the federal skilled worker, for example, until we have space to process them.

When it comes to immediate spouses or immediate family, those are put in direct processing immediately.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

I wanted to get your input. One of the things the ministry has invested heavily in—Claudette, you mentioned it—is the whole global case management system. Could you comment on a couple of things? One, is it up and running up to 100% in all areas of both Canada and internationally? Two, even if we didn't make changes and recommendations based on the review we're doing here, where would we see that the system is going to assist in a continuing downward trend with respect to the backlog?

[Claudette Deschênes]

It's 100% out overseas. It is being rolled out in Canada now. By June of the coming year we hope to have everything built in global case management, all the different processes that we need to process all kinds of applications.

In the short term it will provide us with opportunities to work in a virtual manner, which obviously is good. I'll bring the example of Haiti, where, if the embassy had to close, if it were in the global case management we could do a lot more.

Again, it will help us to be more efficient. It does not help us in terms of the fact that too many applications are coming in and we have a set number we can process every year. But certainly global case management will provide us with a lot more leveraging. In terms of tools, ministerial instructions or caps, or that type of thing, it permits us to be able to manage that in a much better way.

Of course, the other thing we want to do is manage risk in a more coherent fashion. It will permit us to do more of that.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

What do you mean, “manage risk”?

[Claudette Deschênes]

Right now we put the same amount of effort on all applications. Obviously when we can start looking at applications that are known clients to us--they've applied to us as a visitor before or they've applied as a student before--then there are certain things we can do in a more efficient manner than we do today.

The other thing global case management will do we hope is it will help all MPs in terms of we can be much more proactive in our information to clients. Right now it's difficult for a client whose file is on a shelf waiting to move into active processing to know what's happening with it. What we have already built in global case management is an automatic acknowledgement of receipt when we get the application. And we would like to build that so every six months, for example, an applicant will get an e-mail from us. It may simply be that they're lined up and waiting to be processed, but that would be a lot different from what they get from us now. Again, from a client perspective, the global case management will give us a lot of tools we didn't have.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, St. Catharines, ON]

One of the programs we put an interim pause on is the entrepreneurial program, based on some issues we have to deal with. I wonder if you could comment on how many complaints or how many issues we've faced from individuals or families commenting on the interim pause, and whether that has been an issue with respect to the file itself.

[Les Linklater]

To my knowledge, there hasn't been a lot of commentary negatively or positively around the pause. What we do recognize is the program design that we had was not flexible enough to deal with the kinds of entrepreneurial types that would be beneficial for the Canadian economy: people who are prepared to take more risk, who have creative ideas, as opposed to people who may just be interested in buying an existing business in Canada.

So from our perspective, we need to be a little more creative in our thinking and take some time to make sure we're putting forward proposals for a program that will better respond to the variable needs the economy has, in terms of skills, ideas, but also regional dimensions.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you.

Madame Groguhé.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

My question pertains to the processing of the backlogs and of the new applications. Given the measures you have taken over time, do you perceive a certain fairness, a certain balance in the processing?

[Claudette Deschênes]

To date, I believe there has been a certain balance. My aim is to deal with all of the cases as quickly as possible. From a functional point of view, the clearer I am with my immigration officers and office staff as to the way of working, the better it will be, because we will not waste time trying to understand what the instructions are and how things are going.

We are at present studying our instructions for the future. In the end, we wish to be able to say that we have done everything possible to move these files forward and to resolve them as quickly as possible.

We are in the process of studying our strategy. I believe that, to date, there has been a good balance. We must now look at how to go about ensuring the processing of the entire backlog as quickly as possible.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Are you planning on having one or more timeframes in each of these categories with regard to the backlogs, and what would the timeframe be? Do you have an idea, or a projection?

[Claudette Deschênes]

Are you talking about skilled workers?

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Yes.