Yes.
Evidence of meeting #19 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was information.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #19 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was information.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:15 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Perfect.
I thank all the witnesses for being here with us today to continue this important study and to help us write a report that will normally contain important recommendations for the ministry.
I will address Ms. Xavier.
In the brief submitted to the committee by the Association of Regulated Nigerian-Canadian Immigration Consultants, we are told of the ways in which Nigerian and other foreign students are treated differently.
I would like to know why the Nigeria Student Express, or NSE, program is not published on the IRCC website.
12:15 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Madam Chair, I thank the member for his question.
I'm sorry, I don't know why this isn't being published. Perhaps it is because it is a pilot project. However, I can assure you that it is not related to a transparency issue.
We make sure that the missions in the country are well aware of the existence of the program. The fact that it is not published is not deliberate on our part.
12:15 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
If this group mentioned it in their report, it might be interesting for your department to publish the name of the program on your website.
Do you plan to review the eligibility criteria for the NSE program?
12:15 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Madam Chair, I thank the member again for his question.
We continue to evaluate the operation of all IRCC programs. Specifically, we could continue to evaluate our programs offered to students, especially the one related to the Nigeria Student Express.
This will certainly be part of our ongoing evaluation process, which is designed to check what criteria are in place and whether they are working well. It is also part of our overall anti-racism strategy where we are keen to ensure the quality of delivery of our programs and the achievement of the original stated objectives.
12:20 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you.
I will stay on the African continent, if I may. The visa office at the Canadian Embassy in Dakar processes applications from 16 countries, representing a population pool of 276 million people.
Don't you see this as a problem? Isn't there an unconscious bias on the part of the department to begin with?
I'd like to hear what you have to say about this, because some people are telling us that this situation makes absolutely no sense.
12:20 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Madam Chair, I thank the member for his question.
It is clear that the volume is considerable, in general, in terms of IRCC. We are trying to reassess the situation and determine where our resources are and whether we need additional resources. There is a process in the budget for requesting resources.
That said, one of the things that we have improved and continue to improve in the department, especially since the pandemic, is how we move, reallocate resources and reallocate work around the world, rather than just to the mission where the request may have been received. We are again looking to ensure that the quality of information has been respected and that the law has been applied correctly. We also seek to respond more quickly and efficiently to needs.
12:20 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Thank you, Ms. Xavier. You tell us that you are evaluating this, but where is your evaluation of the Dakar office?
I think, quite honestly, that having only one office to serve a population pool of this size is likely to increase the refusals of visa applications, if only because officials are short of time. Indeed, those who process the files do not have the time to manage all this. Also, I wonder if this has the effect of increasing racist prejudice, given that this office is in Africa and handles 16 African countries.
Where are you in your evaluation of the Dakar office?
12:20 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Madam Chair, I thank the member for his question.
I can't say where we are precisely as to the Dakar office. What I am trying to say is that we do the evaluation and analysis of our processes on an ongoing basis.
12:20 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
I understand. You told me the same thing a few seconds ago.
Is the department currently doing an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Dakar office?
12:20 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I can't say, because I don't know if we are doing an evaluation specifically of the Dakar office.
12:20 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Yet you replied to me just a moment ago that you were evaluating several offices.
12:20 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
Yes.
12:20 p.m.
Bloc
12:20 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
No, what I'm trying to say, Madam Chair, is that in the normal course of our work, we do the evaluation of all our offices.
12:20 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
The Dakar office is one of them.
12:20 p.m.
Bloc
Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe Bloc Lac-Saint-Jean, QC
Where are you in the evaluation of the Dakar office?
12:20 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
I could send the committee the information to clarify where we are with regard to the Dakar office, specifically. What I'm trying to say is that we do general assessments and analyses of how our offices are operating.
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
12:20 p.m.
Bloc
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Salma Zahid
We will now proceed to Ms. Kwan.
Ms. Kwan, you will have six minutes. You can proceed, please.
12:20 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you to the officials for appearing before our committee.
First I'd like to ask the officials about the Chinook tool. Are there any quality assurance applications in place for the Chinook tool? If yes, what are they? If not, why not?
12:20 p.m.
Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Citizenship and Immigration
When Chinook was established, we did an assessment of the use of Chinook to ensure that it adhered to all of the Treasury Board guidelines and all of the necessary procedures that are required to respect privacy and things of that nature. There's not an evaluation under way at this point in time because it has already been done.
Just to be clear, I just want to make sure I'm answering the question that was posed.
12:20 p.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you.
It is my understanding that when Chinook was deployed, the department actually had a number of different modules, including a sixth module, which was to deal with the quality assurance component. It was discovered that there were software bugs with respect to that, so then it was never applied.
One would think, then, that the department would go about fixing the bugs so that you would actually have an application of quality assurance to the Chinook system, but it sounds like there isn't. There have been significant concerns with the use of Chinook raised by witnesses, and understandably, then, the witnesses are calling for an independent assessment of Chinook.
It sounds like the department is actually not doing any quality assurance on Chinook at the moment with this application.