Accountability Backlog in Immigration?

With an immigration application backlog that has ballooned to more than 900,000, it is clearly time to address the immigration process in Canada. Recently, the Conservative government introduced amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that it argues will solve the backlog and promote Canada’s immigration goals.

However, the proposed changes lack the very element that the Conservative government strongly advocated for when it came to power: accountability. The proposal to centralize power in the hands of the immigration minister may ultimately strip away transparency and undermine accountability in the immigration system.

Currently, criteria for accepting immigrants are set by regulations, and visa officers are required to review every application submitted. The proposed amendments would allow the Minister of Immigration to limit the number of immigrants Canada accepts, including by category or type of immigration class, and deny admission to applicants who are already approved. The minister could also give instructions to fast-track certain types of immigrants. The minister could therefore basically set criteria for “acceptable immigrants” on an on-going basis.

Opposition parties have raised concerns about these amendments and the power given to the minister.  However, the government included the proposed amendments in a budget bill instead of in a separate bill. The amendments are thus part of a confidence vote, and if the opposition defeats the bill, an election will happen. By doing this, the government is not allowing a fair public process or debate on the important issues of immigration. The choices are to either accept the proposed changes without debate or force a federal election over the issue. Real accountability should reflect a genuine consultation with the public and discussion in parliament to address the growing backlog of visa applications.

The process also raises troubling questions for immigrants. While the criteria will be published, the minister is not accountable to anyone for her decisions. With a lack of transparency in determining the criteria for applicants, the process is unfair to potential immigrants. Not only does it undermine the current rules and regulations that govern the system, but immigrants won’t know when they apply which criteria will actually be used to judge their application, or whether they will even be issued permission to come to Canada if they meet the criteria.

With an unlimited scope in power, the minister would have the authority to reject an applicant who had been approved by immigration officers and skip over those who do not have specific skills desired by Canadian employers. Some immigrant agencies are worried that this is what the minister will do. The Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, for instance, has expressed concerns that the minister could be vulnerable to pressures to meet immediate labour needs with cheap immigrant labour.

Many organizations fear that the new changes to the immigration policy are primarily intended to further the government’s economic agenda to fill labour shortages by favouring skilled immigrants and the economic class. These changes have implications for temporary foreign workers as the government is increasing temporary permits and making it harder for low skilled foreign workers to gain permanent status in Canada. The shift toward a competitive immigration system shows a priority for economic needs over humanitarian needs such as family reunification. By focusing on the applicants’ abilities to contribute to the economy, immigrants are increasingly being treated as economic units instead of people with inherent values and rights. Justice demands that fairness and compassion be reflected in welcoming immigrants to fully participate in society.

While it is important to deal with the backlog of unprocessed applications and revisit immigration criteria, this must be done with accountability and transparency. This means having an open dialogue and a meaningful parliamentary debate to address the immigration application process and develop measures to ensure accountability in the process. The criteria for processing applicants should be transparent and should include categories that look beyond economic skills. It is not fair to close the doors to those who do not meet the necessary skill qualifications. Public justice requires government to adopt fair laws designed to build an equitable society and to ensure a just immigration process that protects the most vulnerable people.

In the end, it is a laudable goal to speed up the application process and to ensure quicker entry for immigrants. It is also fair for a country to determine criteria for accepting immigrants. However, the government needs to ensure this process is done in a democratic and transparent way to allow room for debate. The government should ensure fairness in the process to make this goal a reality and strengthen our efforts of welcoming newcomers into Canada.

Jennifer Heggland and Trixie Ling are CPJ interns; Chandra Pasma is CPJ’s public justice policy analyst.