2019-20 Departmental Plan

Table of contents

• Institutional head's message
• Plans at a glance and operating context
  • Operating context
• Planned results: what we want to achieve this year and beyond
  • Core responsibility
    • Adjudication of immigration and refugee cases
    • Internal services
• Spending and human resources
  • Planned spending
  • Planned human resources
  • Estimates by vote
  • Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
• Additional information
  • Corporate information
    • Organizational profile
    • Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do
    • Reporting framework
  • Supporting information on the program inventory
  • Supplementary information tables
  • Federal tax expenditures
  • Organizational contact information
• Appendix: definitions

Institutional head's message

I am pleased to present the 2019–20 Departmental Plan for the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).

This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the IRB, Canada’s largest administrative tribunal. Over the years, the IRB’s mandate has stood the test of time: making well-reasoned decisions on immigration and refugee matters fairly, efficiently and in accordance with the law. Throughout its history, the IRB has celebrated many accomplishments and overcome significant challenges. Today, the IRB is recognized as a world-class administrative tribunal that other jurisdictions regularly turn to for advice, training and best practices.

Looking forward, the IRB’s role is as compelling as ever, amplified by the current global migratory context. It is clear that fiscal year 2019–20 will be an exceptionally busy time for the IRB across each of the divisions and its enabling services.

In fiscal year 2019–20 and beyond, the IRB will focus on three strategic objectives: improved and sustained productivity; enhanced quality and consistency in decision-making; and strengthened management, with a focus on people management.

In order to advance these strategic objectives, the IRB will focus on the following operational priorities this coming year.

In the context of unprecedented levels of refugee protection claims before both the Refugee Protection Division  and the Refugee Appeal Division, the IRB will work with the Government of Canada to support a systems-wide approach to the management of the refugee determination program. The IRB will work with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency to develop common operational awareness among the key service delivery partners, as well as improved alignment of strategic priorities and resources to more effectively manage the refugee determination system in Canada. This systems-wide approach will be implemented in a manner that fully respects the IRB’s adjudicative independence – a hallmark of the IRB.

Budget 2018 made important investments in the IRB’s capacity to determine refugee protection claims for fiscal years 2018–19 and 2019–20. These investments have achieved their objectives to date, by slowing the growth of both the pending inventory of refugee protection claims as well as wait times for claimants from what they would otherwise have been. However, intake of refugee protection claims at the IRB still far exceeds the organization’s funded processing capacity, resulting in the largest inventory of pending claims in the IRB’s history. Accordingly, in fiscal year 2019–20, the IRB will advance specific initiatives informed by a recent third party review, to support improved productivity across the entire decision-making continuum, from intake at the Refugee Protection Division to finalized appeal at the Refugee Appeal Division. The IRB will also develop options for government consideration to address important funding issues, and work with the Government to ensure timely appointments of Governor-in-Council members.  

In the coming year, the IRB will also be advancing important changes to the way the Immigration Division manages, conducts and decides detention review hearings of foreign nationals and permanent residents in support of enhanced quality and consistent decision-making, following the recommendations of a recent audit of long-term detention reviews. This work will build on current practices and will keep pace with evolving standards of procedural fairness required for those who appear before the Immigration Division.

Having largely eliminated the backlog of immigration appeals this past year, the Immigration Appeal Division will continue its focus in fiscal year 2019–20 on improving productivity and the quality of decision-making by emphasizing the early resolution of appeals prior to their hearings and members’ active adjudication in the hearing room. With the reduction of the pending inventory of appeals, the IRB will develop improved service standards in an effort to shorten wait times for those appearing before the Immigration Appeal Division. As well, the IRB will continue to work with the Government of Canada on timely appointments and reappointments of Governor-in-Council members with a view to maintaining a full complement of decision-makers at the Immigration Appeal Division.

In the year ahead, the IRB will also strengthen its management practices. It will do so by reinforcing internal governance; by promoting a culture of collaboration, innovation, performance and results; by improving system enablers, including shifting to enhanced use of analytics and digital capabilities; as well as by taking concrete measures to better support the Board’s employees and sustain a healthy, engaged and respectful workplace for all.

The IRB is staffed by a highly dedicated, experienced and professional team with a well-earned reputation for fairness and integrity. I very much look forward to working together with all employees and stakeholders to honour the IRB’s important mandate, and position the Board for continued success in the years to come.

The original version was signed by

Richard Wex
Chairperson

Plans at a glance and operating context

Beginning in fiscal year 2019–20, the IRB will pursue three strategic objectives:

1. Sustain and improve productivity

   The IRB will continue to focus on improving productivity and maximizing the effectiveness of temporary resources received under Budget 2018 for both refugee protection and appeal decisions. This will be achieved through the implementation of measures to increase throughput and eliminate unnecessary rework at each stage of the case processing continuum, encompassing intake, triage, case management, decision-making and recourse. A key priority to this end will be establishing a productivity model and triage system that harnesses data and analytics to optimize the use of available resources, as well as piloting case file digitization and tribunal process automation to streamline intake and reduce errors – a measure that will be extended to all the divisions over time.

   In regards to admissibility hearings, detention reviews and immigration appeals, the focus in the year ahead will be on sustaining current productivity levels and improving timeliness of decision-making where appropriate.

2. Enhance the quality and consistency of adjudicative processes

   Key activities in fiscal year 2019–20 will centre on the establishment of quality assurance frameworks and the use of data and analytics to support the consistency of adjudicative processes across all business lines. In addition, the IRB will improve support to decision-makers through modern tools, including in relation to knowledge management, as well as enhance training and professional development, with an initial focus on further strengthening the quality and consistency of refugee protection and refugee appeal decisions. In addition, by simplifying tribunal forms and establishing digital channels of communication, the IRB will facilitate interactions with clients and their counsel and optimize the scheduling of hearings in order to minimize unnecessary postponements and adjournments.

   In light of a recent audit of long-term detention review hearings, the Immigration Division (ID) will pursue activities designed to further strengthen the core tribunal values of impartiality and fairness, as well as to establish mechanisms to support a meaningful review at each detention review hearing.

3. Strengthen management and system enablers

   In the year ahead, the IRB will complete its governance review and establish a clear accountability framework, including in relation to planning and performance reporting against outcomes, while investing in system enablers, such as information technology systems, to support process digitization and automation. More broadly, the IRB will work with immigration portfolio organizations to drive a systems management approach to be more responsive to the changing operational context - both in relation to the Asylum System Management Board, led by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and IRB deputy heads, and to improve collaboration with IRCC and CBSA on admissibility hearings, detention reviews and immigration appeals. Finally, in the year ahead, the IRB will implement an action plan to promote mental health and well-being among its personnel. It will also put in place a national training and mentoring strategy for new decision-makers to position them for success in their role.

   Overall, these plans aim to deliver fair and timely adjudication of immigration and refugee cases.

Operating context

Global migration patterns have always affected the IRB’s workload. In the current context, where migratory and refugee flows have reached unprecedented levels around the world, the Board is experiencing significant pressure as intake continues to substantially exceed funded capacity.

Refugee Protection Division

This pressure is especially acute at the Refugee Protection Division (RPD). The past 24 months have seen the highest volumes of refugee protection claim referrals in the IRB’s history. As a result, an inventory of more than 75,000 claims has accumulated, representing more than two years of work at current funding levels. In the year following the release of an Independent Review of the IRB, the Division is continuing to adopt recommendations from the report to streamline processes and increase efficiency.

Refugee Appeal Division

With its intake consisting largely of appeals against negative RPD decisions, the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) also faces a significant pending inventory of claims. However, with the shortfall in Governor-in-Council decision-makers having been mostly eliminated in the last quarter of 2018–19, the RAD is now well-positioned to address its increased workload. The Division will nonetheless require some months before it is able to operate at full capacity, given that most of its decision-makers are recent appointees and require some time to reach full productivity.

Immigration Division

The ID has a proven track record of meeting legislated time limits for detention review hearings in the vast majority of cases. However, as highlighted in a recent audit, evolving standards of procedural fairness continue to challenge the ID in consistently delivering quality adjudication. As such, the ID is pursuing an action plan that includes the strengthening of management practices and the adoption of significant changes in the Division’s adjudicative culture.

Immigration Appeal Division

Having experienced a large backlog of unresolved appeals over several years, the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) is on track to eliminate this backlog in the coming months. Through the Division’s focussed efforts to increase output together with a recent decline in intake, the IAD has cut pending appeals in half.

For more information on the IRB's plans, priorities and planned results, see the "Planned results" section of this report.

Planned results: what we want to achieve this year and beyond

Internal services

Spending and human resources

Planned spending

Organizational spending trend graph

The planned spending from 2018–19 to 2020–21 includes temporary funding from Budget 2018 in support of Irregular Migration: Managing the Border. This temporary funding is planned to sunset in 2020–21.

The decrease in spending forecast in 2020–21 corresponds to the planned sunset temporary funding from Budget 2018.

Planned human resources

The IRB is taking steps to assure adequate staffing in support of Irregular Migration: Managing the Border from Budget 2018.

Estimates by vote

Information on the IRB’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2019–20 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statements of operations

The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides a general overview of the IRB’s operations. The forecast of financial information on expenses and revenues is prepared on an accrual accounting basis to strengthen accountability and to improve transparency and financial management. The forecast and planned spending amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan are prepared on an expenditure basis, as a result, amounts may differ.

A more detailed future-oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on the IRB’s website.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The net cost of the IRB’s operations is projected to be $197.2 million in 2019–20, an expected increase of $2.3 million compared to the 2018–19 forecast results. This increase in expenses is largely due to the associated costs of using more FTEs in 2019–20.

Additional information

Corporate information

Organizational profile

• Appropriate Minister: The Honourable Ahmed Hussen
• Institutional head: Richard Wex, Chairperson
• Ministerial portfolio: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
• Enabling instrument: Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• Year of incorporation/commencement: 1989

Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do is available on the IRB’s website

Reporting framework

The IRB’s Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2019–20 are shown below.

[Alternate format]

The image illustrates a diagram of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) departmental results framework and program inventory of record for 2019–20 and is divided into two main sections.

The first section describes the departmental results frameworks. It includes the core responsibility of the IRB: adjudication of immigration and refugee cases at the top of the diagram with the departmental result: Fair and timely adjudication of immigration and refugee cases.

The departmental result contains three indicators:

• Indicator 1: Percentage of cases that are deemed fair by the parties
• Indicator 2: Percentage of cases overturned by the federal court
• Indicator 3: Percentage of cases that meet legislated or internal timelines

The second section describes the program inventory programs.

• P1: Refugee protection decisions
• P2: Refugee appeal decisions
• P3: Admissibility and detention decisions
• P4: Immigration appeal decisions
• Internal services

Supporting information on the program inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to the IRB’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the IRB's website.

• Organizational sustainable development strategy
• Gender-based analysis plus

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs. The tax measures presented in this report are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

For more information, visit the IRB website, or contact the IRB through the Contact Us webpage or at the address indicated below.

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Minto Place, Canada Building
344 Slater Street, 12^th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K1

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Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

Core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a Core Responsibility are reflected in one or more related Departmental Results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
A report on the plans and expected performance of appropriated departments over a three year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

Departmental Result (résultat ministériel)
Any change or changes that the department seeks to influence. A Departmental Result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by Program-level outcomes.

Departmental Result Indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a Departmental Result.

Departmental Results Framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
The department’s Core Responsibilities, Departmental Results and Departmental Result Indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on the actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

evaluation (évaluation)
In the Government of Canada, the systematic and neutral collection and analysis of evidence to judge merit, worth or value. Evaluation informs decision-making, improvements, innovation and accountability. Evaluations typically focus on programs, policies and priorities and examine questions related to relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. Depending on user needs, however, evaluations can also examine other units, themes and issues, including alternatives to existing interventions. Evaluations generally employ social science research methods.

Experimentation (expérimentation)
Activities that seek to explore, test and compare the effects and impacts of policies, interventions and approaches, to inform evidence-based decision-making, by learning what works and what does not.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS plus​])
An analytical process used to help identify the potential impacts of policies, Programs and services on diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people. The “plus” acknowledges that GBA goes beyond sex and gender differences. We all have multiple identity factors that intersect to make us who we are; GBA Plus considers many other identity factors, such as race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2018–19 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities refers to those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2015 Speech from the Throne, namely: Growth for the Middle Class; Open and Transparent Government; A Clean Environment and a Strong Economy; Diversity is Canada's Strength; and Security and Opportunity.

horizontal initiatives (initiative horizontale)
An initiative where two or more departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

Performance Information Profile (profil de l’information sur le rendement)
The document that identifies the performance information for each Program from the Program Inventory.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plans (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.
A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

priority (priorité)
A plan or project that an organization has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired Departmental Results.

Program (programme)
Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

Program Inventory (répertoire des programmes)
Identifies all of the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s Core Responsibilities and Results.

results (résultat)
An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

sunset program (programme temporisé)
A time-limited program that does not have an ongoing funding and policy authority. When the program is set to expire, a decision must be made whether to continue the program. In the case of a renewal, the decision specifies the scope, funding level and duration.

target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The Vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.