Good day, Mr. Chair.

I am pleased to appear before the committee to discuss the Spring 2016 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada.

As you've indicated, I'm here with several colleagues. From my Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, I have Mr. Robert Orr, assistant deputy minister of operations; from the Canada Border Services Agency, Denis Vinette, acting associate vice-president of operations; and from the RCMP, chief superintendent Brendan Heffernan, director general of the Canadian criminal real time identification services, and Inspector Jamie Solesme, officer in charge of the federal coordination centre, Canada-United States.

Let me open my comments, Mr. Chair, by saying that my department, IRCC, completely agrees with the Auditor General's report and recommendations. These will help us to continue to improve our processes, and departmental officials are already working quickly to effectively implement them. In fact, we have already made many improvements. We have introduced new procedures for dealing with applicants using addresses flagged as high risk. We have already provided better guidance to citizenship officers, and work is under way with the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP to improve information sharing.

Bill C-6, which is before Parliament now, also proposes amendments to the Citizenship Act that will include new authority to seize documents. We have a new framework in place as well to identify and manage fraud risks in the citizenship program.

I would like you to know that the department has thoroughly reviewed all cases that the OAG flagged to determine if fraud may have occurred. As a result of this review, the department has opened an investigation into 12 cases.

In addition to the controls examined in the Auditor General's audit, IRCC has several other fraud controls that are an integral part of the program. For example, all citizenship applicants aged 15 and a half and older must pass a criminal and security clearance check in order to be granted citizenship.

The immigration history of all citizenship applicants is thoroughly reviewed to determine if concerns, investigations or law enforcement actions have been noted in our Global Case Management System.

Applications with identified risk indicators are given closer scrutiny. Citizenship officers review CBSA information on passenger travel history and examine original documents during in-person interviews. Centres of expertise deal with complex cases to better detect fraud patterns and trends.

In addition, recent legislative changes have already strengthened our ability to deter and deal with fraud. These include increased penalties for fraud and the requirement that consultants be members in good standing of a regulatory body.

A new citizenship revocation model has also been effect since June 2015, which is more efficient and less costly to the government.

I'd like now to very quickly review four specific areas identified in the Auditor General's report.

The Auditor General 's report drew attention to cases of potentially fraudulent addresses. These are addresses known or suspected of being associated with fraud, based on information from the CBSA, the RCMP, or our own citizenship officers. The department has already issued better guidance to citizenship officers in inputting information into our databases so that these problem addresses can be identified more reliably and appropriate action taken.

It is also important to understand that having a problematic address does not necessarily mean an applicant is committing fraud. There is often a valid reason why many applicants would have provided the same address.

Second, IRCC has clarified the authorities relating to document seizure and provided detailed guidance to officers on the process to seize suspicious documents.

Recent changes to the Global Case Management System mean that citizenship officers now have access to Canada Border Services Agency's lost, stolen and fraudulent document database.

In addition, Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act, which the government introduced in February, contains amendments that would provide new authorities for the seizure of potentially fraudulent documents.

The IRCC routinely receives information from its passport program and other government departments, such as Public Safety Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, and the RCMP.

We are actively working with our security partners to ensure that the department has the most up-to-date information possible. We have engaged the RCMP to review the optimal timing for conducting criminal screening, while bearing in mind the need to process citizenship applications in a timely manner. We are also establishing processes for the RCMP to share information on criminal charges impacting citizenship applicants with the IRCC after the initial screening.

The IRCC and the CBSA have also clarified the legislative authority supporting the required information sharing needed by our department for Citizenship Act eligibility decisions, and will develop processes for sharing information on immigration fraud, and this will all be completed by December 2016.

Fourth, as part of its ongoing efforts to improve program integrity, the department developed a systematic, evidence-based approach to identifying and managing the risks of fraud. This includes establishing baselines and monitoring trends. Under this framework, the department evaluates risk indicators to verify they are consistently applied and that fraud controls are working as intended. This analysis will help us make changes, if changes are needed.

I would like to thank the committee members for your attention, and we will be pleased to answer your questions.

Transcript

Discussions (0)