PACP Committee Report

Government of Canada Response to the 13^th Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Chapter 2, “Selecting Foreign Workers under the Immigration Program,” of the Fall 2009 Report of the Auditor General of Canada

The Government of Canada thanks the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) for its report on Chapter 2, “Selecting Foreign Workers under the Immigration Program,” of the Fall 2009 Report of the Auditor General of Canada.

Historically, immigration has supported Canada’s social, cultural and economic development and will play a critical role in ensuring Canada’s economic prosperity in the years to come.  The Government of Canada is committed to an immigration system that continues to reunite families and support Canada’s humanitarian and cultural objectives, while responding to labour force pressures.  For the past four years the Government of Canada has responded to economic challenges by improving the immigration program’s capacity to meet labour market needs.

Both the Fall 2009 Report of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG), Chapter 2, “Selecting Foreign Workers under the Immigration Program,” and PACP’s 13^th Report examine some of our recent initiatives.  The OAG’s report broadly focused on ensuring that Canada’s permanent and temporary worker programs “be designed and delivered in a way to ensure that the right people are available at the right time to meet the needs of the Canadian labour market” (Report of the Auditor General of Canada Fall 2009, Chapter 2, p. 2).  PACP’s report speaks of the need to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of a modernized immigration system.  The Government of Canada agrees with these objectives.  This is why the Government has made modernizing the immigration program to ensure greater labour market responsiveness a key priority.

Modernizing economic immigration programs

This response speaks to the Government’s progress in responding to the recommendations made by the OAG and PACP, including through the implementation of measures laid out in the action plans prepared by the departments of Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) and Human Resources and Skills Development (HRSDC).  More broadly, the response outlines the Government of Canada’s key initiatives to better ensure that economic immigration policy is responsive to the needs of our changing labour market.  In particular, progress has been made to improve:

• the responsiveness and flexibility of various programs to improve their ability to react to the needs of Canada’s labour market and employers;
• the effectiveness and efficiency of operational processes to ensure that investments are supporting the programs appropriately;
• the integrity of immigration programs to sustain public confidence in a well‑managed system; and
• collaboration and partnership with provinces and territories and other stakeholders.

In addition to reviewing recent achievements, this response looks ahead to developments that will further enhance Canada’s immigration system.

The Government of Canada has taken action to make economic immigration programs more responsive and flexible to the needs of Canada’s labour market and employers

In the last three years, the Government has made it a priority to better align immigration programs with the diverse skill requirements of Canada’s dynamic economy.  This has meant finding new ways of meeting immediate and longer-term labour market needs by attracting and retaining the qualified and skilled workers employers require.  

One of our first actions in this regard was to introduce a new avenue to immigration, the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).  Created in 2008, the CEC provides a pathway to permanent residence for certain skilled temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and international students with Canadian degrees and Canadian work experience and allows them to apply for permanent residence from within the country.  This program allows Canada to attract and retain skilled persons who have demonstrated an ability to successfully integrate into the Canadian labour market and society.

The Government has also worked with provinces and territories to expand the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).  The PNP helps address regional needs as participating provinces and territories^[1] nominate for permanent residency candidates who help respond to their specific labour market needs.

The Government also made improvements to the TFW Program to help make the process of hiring foreign workers easier, faster and less costly for employers when they cannot find Canadians to fill key positions.  The Government has also eliminated Labour Market Opinion (LMO) processing backlogs though administrative changes.

Building on these achievements, the Government introduced important amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in 2008.  These changes created new authorities for Ministerial Instructions to remove the obligation to process all new applications received, and to direct the processing of applications in a way that supports the Government’s goals for immigration.

Ministerial Instructions: Successes and Opportunities

The first Ministerial Instructions were issued in November 2008 as part of the Government’s Action Plan for Faster Immigration.  The Action Plan sought to improve the labour market responsiveness and flexibility of the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Program, which is the Government of Canada’s primary means of selecting permanent residents to meet labour market needs.  At the time these changes were announced, the backlog of immigration applications had grown to over 900,000 people, two thirds of which were applicants in the FSW category, with resulting wait times as long as six years.  Not only were long wait times unfair to applicants, the skills needed by Canadian employers were often outdated on arrival. 

The Ministerial Instructions limited the processing of FSW applications submitted on or after February 27 , 2008 (the date on which the authorities came into effect) to those that met at least one of three eligibility criteria:

• those with experience in one of 38 in-demand occupations; or
• those with an offer of arranged employment; or
• those from TFWs or international students legally residing in Canada for one year.

The goal was to process these candidates in 6-12 months so as to more quickly supply Canadian employers with in-demand skills.  Applications that did not meet the eligibility criteria did not proceed to the processing stage and had fees refunded.  In this way, the Instructions sought to both better meet labour needs across Canada and manage the number of new applications CIC had to process so that the Department could concurrently draw down the backlog.

CIC analyses data such as application and acceptance rates, processing times and backlog reduction in order to react to changes that may threaten our ability to process applications quickly and continue to reduce the backlog.  At the same time, CIC monitors information on occupational shortages.  The OAG called for the Instructions to be kept current with changing labour market conditions and that they manage application intake to avoid backlog growth.

Until the first quarter of 2010, application intake had been reduced such that the overall number of people waiting for a decision on their application, including both those who applied before and after the Action Plan was introduced, was consistently declining.  However, in early 2010 application intake volumes had increased to pre-Action Plan levels, thereby threatening progress on backlog reduction and processing wait times.  In addition, CIC was considering new data on projected labour market needs.

Sustaining Progress on Action Plan for Faster Immigration Objectives: Revised Ministerial Instructions

In June 2010, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism issued new Ministerial Instructions that introduced a number of key changes informed by more robust analysis and operational experience acquired over the 18 months since the first Instructions were issued.  As with the first set, the objectives for the new Instructions are to allow the Government to keep the intake of applications in line with processing capacity to reduce application backlogs and processing times, while responding to key national labour market needs.

First, the list of priority occupations was refined based on updated, five-year projections of labour imbalances provided by HRSDC’s Canadian Occupations Projection System; input from provinces and territories on their respective occupational pressures; input from stakeholders; and analysis of operational data (e.g., volumes of pre- and post-Instructions applications already on hand, that is, those in the backlog of pre-February 2008 applications and those received under the first set of Instructions).

Second, the new Ministerial Instructions introduced an annual cap on the number of new FSW applications that will be considered for processing.  A cap is a key step toward better “supply management” needed for a more modern and responsive immigration system.  The cap ensures that CIC can continue to process new FSW applications in a timely manner while also continuing to process applications already on hand.  By further ensuring that no occupation accounts for more than 5% of the total considered for processing these Instructions help ensure that the priority occupations list meets as wide an array of specific labour market needs as possible.  As well, the cap does not apply to applicants with confirmed offers of employment who, by virtue of having such an offer, are demonstrably meeting a labour market need.

Third, the updated Instructions require that all FSW applications (as well as those in the CEC) submitted as of June 26, 2010 be accompanied by a valid test result from a designated third-party language testing agency.  Research shows that language proficiency is a key determinant in labour market success.  The Government believes that an independent language test is the fairest, most transparent, objective, consistent and accurate way to evaluate an applicant’s language skills.  This requirement is intended to benefit both immigrants and Canada’s economy, in part by greatly reducing processing times for applicants.

Looking ahead, CIC will continue to explore ways of using the Ministerial Instructions to improve the flexibility and responsiveness of the immigration system.  For example, as CIC mentioned in its response to the OAG report, options are being explored for working with an external advisory body that would help frame labour market needs, as is the case in the United Kingdom.

The Government of Canada has taken action to ensure that immigration programs are effective and efficient. 

CIC is dedicated to modernizing the immigration program by developing policies and operational mechanisms that increase effectiveness and efficiency at all stages of the process.  We outline many of these initiatives below.

Ministerial Instructions are significant policy levers for the Government to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the immigration programs

As discussed above, one of the key objectives of the November 2008 Ministerial Instructions was to take action on the large backlog of FSW applications that resulted from CIC lacking tools to align the intake of new applications with the capacity to process them.  The backlog reduced efficiency as wait times increased for clients and visa officers spent time managing backlog files rather than processing applications.

Ministerial Instructions have resulted in significant progress on reducing the backlog of FSW applications received prior to the Action Plan for Faster Immigration.  As of April 2010, this backlog stood at around 370,000 people, a reduction of over 40% from its peak of 641,000 persons in February 2008, and it continues to be drawn down.  This rate of reduction is ahead of the target set out by the Government following Budget 2008.  However, after early progress an increase in FSW applications risked the creation of a second backlog, a concern shared by the OAG report and noted by PACP.  While the pre‑Instructions backlog has been reduced significantly, CIC must still process around 160,000 persons who have applied under the first set of Instructions.

Measures taken in the second set of Ministerial Instructions, including the introduction of an annual cap on the number of new FSW applications to be considered for processing, respond to this rising intake.  With an annual cap on intake, analysis performed during the development of the second set of Instructions anticipated eliminating the FSW backlog by 2017-18.  It must be noted, however, that this projection is based on several key assumptions including stability in annual FSW admissions, a category that continues to face downward pressure resulting from growing demands elsewhere in the system, notably the PNP.

Other Accomplishments

The Government has also signalled its commitment to an effective immigration program through substantial investments in recent years.  Budget 2006 saw a $1.4 billion investment over five years to enhance settlement supports and services that help newcomers integrate into Canadian society.  Such programs help immigrants adapt to the labour market more quickly.  In 2008 the Government addressed the efficiency of the processing network with $109 million over five years to better respond to increasing demands on the temporary and the permanent streams.  These new resources, together with improved operational procedures, have enabled CIC to reallocate resources within the immigration system, leading to a decrease in processing times for other permanent and temporary resident streams.

Second, CIC continues to explore ways of improving the application process for clients.  In 2008, the Government created the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney, Nova Scotia, for the receipt of all FSW applications.  The CIO performs a number of key functions such as file creation, data entry, collection of processing fees, and pre-screens applications to determine whether eligibility under the Ministerial Instructions.  The CIO helps speed up the processing of these applications and is a key example of CIC’s long‑term vision for client service.

Among other recent accomplishments is a more user-friendly website that provides better information to all clients, including applicants and employers looking to hire TFWs.  Another example is CIC’s desire to speed up processing by offering online applications to clients.  Introduced in 2008, the e-Application is now available to virtually all temporary resident applicants within Canada, including temporary foreign workers. Response to this new service has been positive.  For example, less than one year after introducing an electronic application option for in-Canada study permits, approximately 50% of applicants use this new option.  CIC hopes to move forward with the e‑Application initiative for other application types.  Lastly, CIC has expanded arrangements with overseas Visa Application Centres (VACs) currently in 17 countries.  VACs play a key role in responding to various client service issues, including managing high volumes of applications, disseminating information on application requirements, and facilitating access to CIC services.

A third key development is the implementation of the new Global Case Management System (GCMS) to all overseas missions, to be completed at the end of March 2011.  The GCMS is CIC’s single, worldwide system for application processing, both for immigration and citizenship services.  Starting with Port of Spain at the end of June 2010, by March 2011 more than 5,000 staff will be working with one integrated system for all overseas applications.  Among other benefits, GCMS will mean complete access to client information in one system and improved file tracking, which will improve CIC’s processing efficiency. 

Lastly, the Government has sought to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the immigration program by addressing the issue of foreign credential, or qualification, recognition.  HRSDC's Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP) is an active partner with CIC in implementing the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, which is an historic initiative announced in November 2009, to make foreign qualification recognition systems and processes more timely, consistent, fair, and transparent across the country.

The Government of Canada has taken action to protect the integrity of the immigration program in order to sustain public confidence in a well-managed system.

The Government of Canada is mindful of the need to ensure that programs work as planned, that they achieve objectives, and that they contribute to an immigration program that sustains public confidence.  There are several examples of recent measures either underway or scheduled in 2011-12 that speak to these priorities.

The process used to develop the new Ministerial Instructions was centered on labour market input from provinces and territories, consultations with stakeholders and the public, and projections of occupational pressures in the medium term provided by HRSDC.  They were also informed by the data and analysis yielded by the new diagnostic and analytical tools introduced with the first set of Instructions in 2008.  CIC continues to improve its understanding of the Instructions so as to ensure that they meet objectives and remain responsive to changing conditions.

CIC’s new Global Case Management System will be an important tool for ensuring the integrity of immigration programs.  One of the benefits GCMS will provide is an improved ability to collect information on potential fraud.  While fraud detection is limited to the period of time since implementation to all offices, as more data are entered, identification of fraud will become increasingly easier and more reliable.

CIC and HRSDC have been addressing issues around program integrity in the TFW Program.  Recent accomplishments include improving the way the two departments work together to share information through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2009, clarifying respective departmental roles and responsibilities, and taking action to protect TFWs, including live-in caregivers, from potential abuse and exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous employers.  Notably, new regulations that come into effect on April 1, 2011, will result in a more rigorous assessment of the genuineness of the job offer; a two-year prohibition from hiring TFWs for employers who have, in recent past, not provided their TFWs with the wages, working conditions or position that was substantially the same as in the original offer of employment, and a limit on the length of time a TFW may work in Canada before returning home. 

Moreover, enhancements to the HRSDC Foreign Worker System and on-line applications service will help facilitate better data capture, reduce paper burden, and meet increased monitoring requirements while keeping pace with the recently announced regulatory changes to the TFW Program, to come into effect in April, 2011.  HRSDC’s TFW Web Service, which will offer secure online access to clients, is expected to be released in 2011.

HRSDC has developed and will implement in 2011 a TFW Program Quality Assurance Framework and manual to assess and report on the fair and consistent application of program policy across the policy to service delivery continuum.

Budget 2007 invested an additional $149.5 million over 5 years and $35.5 million ongoing to implement improvements to the TFW Program and to strengthen program integrity.  Building on this commitment, HRSDC has implemented a range of integrity measures, including, in April 2009, a voluntary Monitoring Initiative.  Under this initiative, employers agree to participate in Employer Compliance Reviews which permit HRSDC to assess the degree to which employers are employing TFWs on terms and conditions that are consistent with the representations made to HRSDC for the purposes of obtaining an LMO.  

Employer Compliance Reviews, which are not voluntary in nature, were also conducted under the Expedited Labour Market Opinion (E-LMO) Pilot Project, a pilot project which has been recently ended.  The vast majority of employers were found to be employing the TFWs they hired under the pilot in accordance with the terms and conditions indicated in their LMO application..

As recommended by the OAG, HRSDC and Service Canada regions are working to develop clearer guidance for Foreign Worker Officers to review the degree to which an employer has provided wages, working conditions or an occupation/position in accordance with what was originally offered when assessing a new application for an LMO.  This guidance will standardize existing review practices and, where an employer is found not to have sufficiently respected the terms of a previous offer on which an LMO was based,, will provide clearer instructions to Foreign Worker Officers on how to deal with future LMO applications from that employer if the employer does not address the discrepancies.

Where a work permit has not yet been issued, HRSDC/Service Canada will also revoke LMOs that have already been issued where, for instance, new information comes to light that would have resulted in a difference decision being made on the LMO application.  This helps to strengthen the integrity of the LMO process and can prevent TFWs from entering potentially exploitative employment situations.

Work is also underway to strengthen the integrity of the Live-in Caregiver Program and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. Additional reviews will be initiated in fall 2010 with an increase in regional capacity toward initiating 500 reviews by end of year.

To support all initiatives, HRSDC has delivered and will continue to deliver training to Foreign Worker officers on monitoring and compliance, the National Occupation Class, and TFW Program policies.  Training packages – including directives and tools – to be delivered in winter-spring 2011, are currently being developed to address regulatory amendments, enhancements to the Foreign Worker System and quality assurance.  For example, training sessions on the voluntary Monitoring Initiative were delivered to Foreign Worker Officers in Ontario, the Atlantic region, and Manitoba-Saskatchewan in March 2010.  The Ontario region has implemented Monitoring Initiative reviews with additional regions to begin implementation into 2011.

Finally, several program evaluations are underway or scheduled as per CIC’s and HRSDC’s evaluation plans.  Notably, the recent evaluation of the FSW Program confirms the relevance of the program and shows that, amongst other things, the adoption of the new selection criteria in 2002 has resulted in the improved economic performance of post-IRPA FSWs relative to their predecessors and to other immigrant categories.  In addition, an evaluation of the PNP is scheduled to get underway later in 2010; discussions have begun between CIC and provinces to this end.  Results from the TFW Program evaluation are expected in 2010-11, while an implementation evaluation of the first set of Ministerial Instructions is also scheduled for 2010-11.

The Government of Canada has taken action to engage and collaborate with provinces, territories and stakeholders to continue to shape pan-Canadian goals for immigration.

Since jurisdiction over immigration is a shared responsibility under the Constitution, effective collaboration between the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories is essential to the successful management of the program.  While CIC and its provincial and territorial partners have worked together for years to make immigration responsive to the unique economic, social and labour market needs of each province and territory (for example, as per the terms of the Canada-Quebec Accord or through the PNP), recently the level of collaboration has increased.

In late 2008, CIC together with the provinces and territories launched a process to develop a common approach for understanding how economic programs, such as the FSW Program and PNP, contribute to meeting the economic objectives for immigration.  Part of this discussion has meant considering the changing balance of admissions in the Economic Class, a development noted by the OAG’s fall report.  One goal of this exercise is the development of a shared vision for immigration to Canada.  In turn, this vision will help inform the development of a broader strategic roadmap for the future of immigration to Canada.  Ongoing federal, provincial and territorial discussions on a new collaborative multi-year levels planning approach is another key part of this work.

Beyond the work on a roadmap, CIC and HRSDC are currently developing and implementing information-sharing agreements with the provinces and territories to facilitate communication between levels of governments to help enforce provincial labour standards and occupational health and safety standards, and assist with assessments made by HRSDC and CIC.  HRSDC has signed Letters of Understanding with Alberta (2008), Manitoba (2008), British Columbia (2010) and Saskatchewan (2010), and discussions are underway with Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.  A Letter of Understanding is not required in Quebec due to the joint administration of Labour Market Opinions with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés Culturelles du Québec.

CIC constantly looks to improve the way it shares information with partners and stakeholders, and recent improvements to the departmental website have helped.  One notable example is CIC’s Quarterly Administrative Data Release initiative that provides up-to-date information on the immigration process, including for both permanent and temporary streams. 

For their part, Member of Parliament (MP) constituency offices value their ability to deliver helpful and timely service to their constituents, often on immigration and/or citizenship related matters.  CIC is seeking to improve access to other online resources.  In 2010/11, CIC will explore the creation of MP-dedicated web content that would provide MPs with a single link to information and data most often requested by constituents.  CIC is also looking to improve its immigration reference document intended specifically for Senators and MPs.  Beginning in September 2010, CIC will commit to issuing the reference package twice annually (and once the Department receives notification of a new MP), and expand its distribution list to include constituency offices. 

Looking Ahead: Building on recent successes, responding to opportunities

The Government of Canada is committed to modernizing the immigration program to ensure that it supports Canada’s economic needs in the years ahead.  In particular, immigration is a key contributor to meeting short-and long-term labour market needs, and for this reason the Government agrees with the importance both the OAG and PACP place on well-functioning and effective programs for selecting foreign workers.  In fact, the Government considers the OAG and PACP reports to be useful contributions to its efforts to improve skilled worker programs and is pleased that the Auditor General commented favourably on CIC and HRSDC’s action plans for responding to the OAG report’s recommendations.^[2]  CIC and HRSDC will continue to implement the measures as per the timeframes indicated in their respective action plans.

As the lead department for delivering foreign worker programs, CIC will build on the successful initiatives of recent years.  CIC will continue to maintain progress on the Action Plan for Faster Immigration objectives by ensuring that the Ministerial Instructions respond to evolving labour needs and enable CIC to continue to reduce the backlog.  CIC, working with HRSDC, will continue to improve the TFW Program to ensure employers have access to the skills they need and that the program is fair and equitable to the workers they hire.  Working with provinces and territories, CIC will continue its work on a strategic roadmap to better ensure that economic programs support pan-Canadian economic needs.  Finally, CIC and HRSDC will maintain their commitments to work together to deliver well-functioning programs that are developed using robust analysis and supported by careful monitoring and evaluation.