Transparency and improved access to justice at IRCC

In a nutshell

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada could improve access to justice by increasing transparency and making its operating procedures more efficient.

Impact on the Federal Court

Both IRCC and the Federal Court are under significant strain due to the high volume of judicial review applications and Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests directed at IRCC to access Global Case Management System (GCMS) notes.

Make GCMS notes available

While the Section acknowledges that many delays and issues related to GCMS notes will be resolved once the Master Portal is fully developed, this process could take years to be finalized. In the meantime, to respect the right of applicants to know why their applications are refused, IRCC should make those notes “available as part of the decision letter” before a planned master portal launches. This would greatly reduce the need for ATIP requests and result in fewer delays, to say nothing of its positive impact on transparency and accountability.

To further improve efficiency, IRCC should implement a tracking system for ATIP requests similar to the one used by other government entities such as the Canada Border Services Agency. This step would “enhance public trust by providing applicants with real-time updates on their requests,” writes the Section.

Disclose the use of AI

To ensure thoroughness and transparency when releasing GCMS notes, IRCC needs to disclose which artificial intelligence or automated decision-making tools were used to triage, process and reach decisions on any application. The GCMS notes should include audit trails containing information about the triaging results and all interactions with various processing tools.This aligns with a resolution adopted by CBA members at the 2024 Annual General Meeting on the use of AI in immigration law and delivery.

Read the submission.