You have discussed the theme of data through many of your spring reports. I think that's one of the common themes for all six of them. That certainly seems to be the case in this report.
Regarding information sharing with the RCMP and the CBSA, currently a citizenship officer requests a clearance check that is then performed by the RCMP. You know this works generally well, but you recommend that it happen later rather than early in the citizenship process. Someone is criminally charged after that initial check.
I take your point, but I'm not sure that's the right solution, because a criminal charge generally ends an application. It is like a red light. Learning that someone had a charge or a conviction at the start can stop the expenditure of resources for processing an application that involves a fraud.
Would it make sense for the department to have direct access to search this database so checks can be run multiple times in the whole process of the citizenship?