2020-21 Departmental Plan

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From the Institutional Head

I am pleased to present the 2020–21 Departmental Plan for the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The purpose of this plan is to support the IRB’s statutory mandate of resolving immigration and refugee cases efficiently, fairly and in accordance with the law.

In fiscal year 2020–21, Canada will continue to face challenges arising from changing global migration patterns and the unprecedented volume of people seeking access to Canada’s immigration and refugee protection system.

To ensure the IRB is well positioned to respond, we will build on the significant investments made in Budgets 2018 and 2019 by advancing the IRB’s multi-year Growth and Transformation agenda. The agenda was announced in last year’s Departmental Plan and is focused on three strategic objectives: improved and sustained productivity; enhanced quality and consistency in decision-making; and strengthened management, with a focus on people management.

As one of the key elements of our strategy to effectively address emerging trends and manage the rising intake of refugee claims, the IRB will grow the organization with a particular focus on recruiting, training and supporting new employees. By the end of 2020–21, the IRB will have almost doubled its budget and staff complement in less than three years, which will allow the IRB to substantially increase the number of refugee claims to be finalized. The Board will determine more than 50,000 refugee claims and 13,000 refugee appeals – the largest number of refugee protection claims ever decided at the IRB.

While recent investments have enabled the Board to decide more refugee cases and to significantly slow the growth of the backlog and wait times from where they would otherwise be, intake of new refugee claims continues to outpace the IRB’s funded processing capacity. Accordingly, the backlog of refugee protection claims and wait times for claimants continue to grow. Further, recent budgetary investments are scheduled to end at the end of fiscal year 2020–21. Lastly, a full complement of decision makers is essential to finalizing a higher volume of claims. Therefore, as part of the IRB’s Growth agenda, the Board is committed to work closely with the government to address funding issues and timely Governor-in-Council appointments of decision-makers.

In addition to its growth strategies, the IRB will advance a range of initiatives focussed on improved productivity, enhanced quality, and strengthened management, through its Transformation agenda.

The IRB will continue to make progress on a wide range of initiatives, some in collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), to improve and sustain productivity across the refugee decision-making continuum, from claim intake to recourse. The IRB will also build on recent efficiency initiatives across all four Divisions, which have allowed the organization to meet or exceed performance targets and maintain or improve service standards. Importantly, the IRB will continue to promote and demonstrate a culture of improved operational awareness, performance and results across the entire organization.

The IRB will also begin to simplify and digitize its processes and leverage automated data to inform business decisions, with a view to becoming a digital organization. This will enable the IRB to deliver a better digital experience that is more efficient and focused on the needs of all users, including hearing participants, decision-makers and employees.

As the IRB grows, it is essential that it maintain its reputation for high quality and fair decisions. Building on a strong foundation of existing quality assurance measures, the IRB will emphasize quality in the conduct of its hearings and in its decision-making. Priorities will include more regular and transparent reviews of decision-making across each Division; the establishment of quality centres of excellence at both the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division, each mandated to monitor trends and identify and address areas requiring attention; a focus on addressing gender-related claims, including reviewing and updating related Chairperson Guidelines; additional mandatory training for all refugee adjudicators  on gender-related  violence and the creation of a dedicated team with specialized training to hear and decide refugee claims dealing with gender-related violence; and a third-party review of the IRB’s public complaints process. The IRB will advance efforts to promote consistent and effective adjudication by implementing an adjudicative strategy at the Refugee Appeal Division to clarify areas of refugee law; by updating, for government consideration, the Rules of Practice for the Immigration Appeal Division; and by advancing continued improvement measures at the Immigration Division, in response to a third-party review of long-term detention reviews.

The IRB will also strengthen its management practices by improving its corporate services and regional governance structures, and supporting system-wide planning and coordination with both IRCC and CBSA through the newly established Asylum System Management Board. Finally, the Board will implement measures to support employees and continue to promote a culture of engagement, collaboration, civility and respect in the workplace.

We are proud of the work we do to support Canada’s international human rights obligations, our humanitarian traditions, as well as the security and the quality of life of Canadians. The dedication of the IRB’s experienced and professional team is outstanding, and I look forward to working with our employees and our many stakeholders over the coming year as we advance our Growth and Transformation agenda.

Richard Wex
Chairperson and CEO

Plans at a glance

In fiscal year 2020–21, the IRB will continue to pursue its multi-year Growth and Transformation agenda launched last year.

Growth

The IRB is undergoing the largest period of growth in its 30-year history, virtually doubling in size in under three years. Most recently, Budget 2019 provided the Board with $208M over two years to recruit over 450 decision-makers and support staff and to acquire and fit up additional workspaces. Building on the success of last year, in fiscal year 2020–21, the Board will continue to recruit, train and support additional decision-makers and support staff, and increase total refugee protection claim decisions from approximately 40,000 in fiscal year   2019–20 to 50,000 in 2020–21 and increase refugee appeal decisions from approximately 10,000 to 13,500.

Transformation

Sustain and improve productivity

In the year ahead, the Board will continue to enhance productivity across the decision-making continuum and maximize the effectiveness of temporary resources allocated to the IRB to decide refugee protection claims and appeals. The Board will further develop and implement a productivity model and triage system that better balances workload among staff, and optimizes the use of resources for the determination of refugee protection claims and appeals, while exploring ways to simplify claim intake to increase efficiencies—these measures will be extended to other divisions over time.

In regard to admissibility hearings, detention reviews and immigration appeals, the focus in the year ahead will be on sustaining current member productivity levels and ensuring the continued timeliness of decision-making.

Further, the Board is committed to becoming a digital organization. It will expand how it exchanges information with counsel, clients and stakeholders through digital communication channels, including the IRB’s MyCase Portal, a step towards adopting digital case files and streamlining intake, while also optimizing the scheduling of hearings in order to minimize unnecessary postponements and adjournments.

Enhance the quality of and consistency in decision-making

In fiscal year 2020–21, the IRB will build on the quality assurance measures already in place. A key priority will be the establishment of quality centres of excellence at both the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division, each mandated, in collaboration with the ongoing work performed by legal counsel, to monitor trends and identify and address areas requiring attention. The IRB will also focus on addressing gender related claims, including reviewing and updating related Chairperson Guidelines and providing mandatory training for all refugee adjudicators on gender violence, including addressing myths and stereotypes about victims and the effects of trauma on victims’ memory; and on unconscious bias and cultural competency.

The Refugee Protection Division will establish a dedicated team with specialized training to hear and decide certain refugee protection claims dealing with gender violence. In addition, the Board will continue to strengthen the delivery of comprehensive new member training, mentoring and professional development programs, as well as the provision of modern tools and supports, including in relation to knowledge management, to strengthen the quality of and consistency in decision-making. The Board will also shift to annual quality measurement reviews of decision-making across each division and will advance efforts to promote consistent and effective adjudication by implementing adjudicative strategies at the Refugee Appeal Division to clarify areas of refugee law. The Board will also undertake an independent review of its public complaints process as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the integrity of hearing conduct and member decision-making.

Over the coming year, the IRB will continue to take steps to ensure fair and robust detention review hearings in the context of the challenging circumstances in which Immigration Division decision-makers are often required to operate in line with the recommendations of the review on long-term detentions. The Board will also update, for government consideration, the Rules of Practice for the Immigration Appeal Division.

The Board will also undertake an independent review of its public complaints process as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the integrity of hearing conduct and member decision-making.

Strengthen management with a focus on people management

Over the coming year, the IRB will strengthen internal governance and internal support models, while investing in system enablers, such as human resources and information technology systems, to ensure tribunal processes are well supported. The Board will also continue to collaborate with portfolio partners in the context of refugee protection claims to drive a systems management approach to be more responsive to rising global migration patterns. Finally, in the year ahead, the IRB will implement a mental health strategy and action plan to promote workplace well-being among its personnel.

Overall, these plans aim to deliver fair and timely adjudication of immigration and refugee cases, while promoting a culture of organizational wellness, performance and results.

For more information on the IRB’s plans, priorities and planned results, see the “Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks” section of this report.

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

Core responsibility

This section contains detailed information on the department’s planned results and resources for its core responsibility. It also contains information on the key risks related to achieving those results.

Adjudication of immigration and refugee cases

Planning highlights

In accordance with the Departmental Results Framework, the IRB has the following core responsibility and organizational result: the fair and timely adjudication of immigration and refugee cases. This result is measured using three indicators: percentage of cases overturned by the Federal Court, percentage of cases that exceed quality standards and percentage of cases that meet legislated or internal timelines.

In the year ahead, it is expected that immigration detention reviews will continue to meet legislated timelines in at least 96 percent of all cases, and that immigration admissibility hearings and immigration appeals will meet internal time standards in at least 80 percent of all cases.

However, it is expected that refugee protection claims and appeals will meet internal timelines in only up to 50 percent of all cases because the annual intake of refugee protection claims continues to be greater than the funded capacity to process such claims. As such, the working inventory continues to grow and it takes longer to process claims. Indeed, the Board will find it challenging to meet internal refugee processing timelines for refugee protection claims and appeals until funded processing capacity is more aligned with the intake of refugee protection claims and the working inventory of claims begins to decrease.

Therefore, despite meeting legislated timelines for the processing of immigration detention reviews in 96 percent of cases and internal timelines for immigration appeals and immigration admissibility hearings in 80 percent of cases, the IRB expects to meet legislated or internal timelines for only 50 percent of its entire caseload, across all four divisions, as a result of refugee protection claims and appeals representing the majority of IRB decisions in 2020–21.The table below is an overview of expected timelines of decision making across the various types of immigration and refugee cases at the IRB:  

​Expected timelines of decision making across the various types of immigration and refugee cases at the IRB

The plans outlined in the following sections are intended to support the IRB in meeting its statutory mandate and the targets set out above in fiscal-year 2020–21.

Refugee protection claims and appeals

In an environment where refugee claim intake continues to be greater than the IRB’s processing capacity, the Board’s plans for the year are focused on building capacity and leveraging the temporary investments provided in Budget 2019 as well as transforming the way we work to improve productivity, enhance the quality of and consistency in decision-making, and strengthen management. In this regard, key initiatives include:

Sustaining and improving productivity

Further developing and implementing a national productivity model to maximize organizational performance, allocate workload in a more balanced manner and enhance planning capabilities.

Strategic case management of the inventory of claims, including further developing and implementing a national triage system to better optimize scheduling and more effectively allocate resources based on case characteristics, including the continued use of case management task forces.

Continue improving information sharing with IRCC and the CBSA and gaining efficiencies by streamlining the intake and pre-hearing processes and creating hearing-ready files that support quicker decision-making.​

Enhancing the quality of and consistency in decision-making

Strengthening quality assurance through improved new member and ongoing training, including additional mandatory training on gender- related violence, as well as enhanced mentorship, and quality monitoring hearings and decisions.

Initiating annual and transparent third-party quality management reviews of decision-making.

Conducting an independent review of the Board’s procedures for making a complaint about a member to continue to strengthen areas around fairness, access and the integrity of the system.

Establishing quality centres of excellence to monitor trends, in collaboration with legal services, and to identify and address areas requiring attention.

Establishing a dedicated team consisting of members with enhanced/specialized training to hear and decide gender-related claims from certain vulnerable claimants, thereby strengthening the Board’s current approach to hearing such cases.

Implementing adjudicative tools to support decision-making, such as the national rollout of a knowledge management tool as a means to strengthen consistency, timeliness and high-quality decision-making.

Strengthening management

Adopting modern digital tools such as digitized case files, standardized electronic forms and simple electronic processes, including the exchange of electronic information with all parties using the MyCase Portal.

As a result of temporary funding provided in Budget 2019, productivity from the Refugee Protection Division will grow to 50,000 refugee protection claim decisions in 2020–21, and productivity from the Refugee Appeal Division will grow to 13,500 appeal decisions over the same period. However, this funding, though significant, does not yet align with intake volumes, which are currently above 60,000 claims per year at the Refugee Protection Division. This temporary funding will only allow the IRB to slow the growth of the backlog from where it would otherwise be without such funding. It will only become possible to stop backlog growth when claim intake and decision-making capacity are fully aligned.

Admissibility hearings, detention reviews and immigration appeals

The IRB’s plans for the year ahead are focused on maintaining productivity in relation to admissibility hearings, detention reviews and immigration appeals while further enhancing the quality and consistency of adjudicative processes. In this regard, key initiatives include:

Sustaining and improving productivity

The Immigration Appeal Division will allow the submission of non-protected documents or other correspondence by email. The MyCase portal will permit the electronic exchange of Protected B information. The use of electronic means for exchanging information will lead to more efficient communications with parties.

Improving tribunal practices and processes through the revision of the Rules of Practice of the Immigration Appeal Division for Government consideration.

Having a continued focus on early resolution and pre-hearing conferences at the Immigration Appeal Division to ensure that hearing time is used to maximum effect.

The Immigration Division is working with the CBSA and the authorities in Ontario to address access issues at provincial correctional centres and allow the Division to conduct detention review hearings with individuals held in these centres in a more efficient manner.

Enhancing the quality of and consistency in decision-making

Initiating annual and transparent quality management reviews of decision-making.

Conducting an independent review of the Board’s procedures for making a complaint about a member to continue to strengthen areas around fairness, access and the integrity of the system.

Promoting the use of active adjudication to ensure that hearings are conducted efficiently and that they meet high quality standards.

Continuing to implement a rigorous quality assurance and training program for admissibility hearings and detention reviews, as well as pursuing measures to ensure that detained individuals appearing before the Division have access to the information and support required for a fair hearing.

Strengthening management

Optimizing immigration appeal workflows and digitizing processes and case files, including the exchange of electronic information with all parties using the MyCase Portal.

Gender-based analysis plus

In 2020–21, the IRB aims to complete the review and begin implementing the recommendations from the review of the implementation of the Chairperson’s Guideline 9: Proceedings Before the IRB Involving Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression. In the same year the IRB will undertake a review to update Chairperson’s Guideline 4: Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution.

The objective is to ensure that the Guideline remains current, that SOGIE diverse individuals appearing before the Board continue to receive consistently sensitive treatment and fair hearings, and that decisions are of high quality.

All refugee adjudicators will receive additional mandatory training on the Chairperson’s Guideline 9: Proceedings Before the IRB Involving Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression, gender-related violence, including addressing myths and stereotypes about victims and the effects of trauma on victims’ memory, and on unconscious bias and cultural competency.

The Refugee Protection Division is establishing a dedicated team consisting of members with enhanced/specialized training to hear and decide gender‑related claims from certain vulnerable claimants, thereby strengthening the Board’s current approach to hearing such cases.

The Immigration Appeal Division is seeking to renew its rules. One of the objectives is to assist appellants, including those who are unrepresented, with better access to justice. Gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) will be incorporated throughout this work.

United Nations’ 2030-Agenda for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Through the use of environmental criteria to reduce the environmental impact, while ensuring the best value in government procurement decisions, the IRB will contribute to meeting two United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, namely, to motivate suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of their goods, services and supply chains and to reduce the use of paper in the departmental bid solicitation process.

Experimentation

Innovation is key to achieving and sustaining a high level of productivity, and in 2020–21 the IRB will become more efficient in finalizing immigration and refugee cases through evidence-based experimentation.

This experimentation will include the implementation of a national productivity model for the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division which considers claim complexity, experience of decision-makers, diversity of caseload and other factors that drive productivity. This will result in clearer and more realistic productivity standards going forward. Moreover, the IRB will explore how best to automate the triage system to provide cases to decision-makers, including considering the use of predictive analytics and machine learning in order to make the best use of available resources and to improve productivity.

The Board will also roll out a national knowledge management tool that will facilitate the decision-making process by providing decision-makers with easier access to the information they require to prepare for, preside over and decide a case.

Finally, the IRB, through its digital strategy, will explore new tools such as artificial intelligence driven transcription services, and robotics for internal services and support functions that could generate efficiencies for IRB practices.

Key risks

There are four risks that could hinder the achievement of the planned results.

Risk 1: If refugee claim intake continues above IRB funded capacity, existing refugee protection claim backlogs and wait times will grow further, even more so when temporary funding sunsets in 2021–22.

Mitigation: The IRB will continue to work with immigration portfolio organizations and central agencies to seek additional funding while also pursuing ways to increase its efficiency.

Risk 2: If growth efforts are impeded because of a constrained supply of quality decision-makers, including timely appointments and reappointments of GIC members, the IRB will be unable to effectively meet operational targets regarding the resolution of refugee protection claims.

Mitigation: The IRB will increase staffing capacity, recruit decision-makers year-round and work with the Government to prioritize appointments and reappointments of GIC members in a timely manner.

Risk 3: If priorities are not aligned across the immigration and refugee system or with enabling partners (i.e., Shared Services Canada [SSC] and Public Services and Procurement Canada [PSPC]), organizational growth and operational targets regarding the resolution of claims may be impeded or delayed.

Mitigation: The IRB will increase its collaboration with key delivery and services providers, including improved governance with IRCC and the CBSA, and the development of integrated plans with key service providers (SSC and PSPC).

Risk 4: As the volume of refugee protection claims continues to rise, there is a risk that a focus on productivity and efficiency will undermine the quality of decision-making.

Mitigation: The IRB will prioritize initiatives to ensure it maintains its reputation for fairness and quality in its decision-making, including the establishment of new quality centres to monitor trends and identify training needs, more regular third-party reviews of the quality of its decisions, and a review of its public complaints process.

Planned results

Financial, human resources and performance information for the IRB’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase. ⁱⁱ

Planned budgetary financial resources for Adjudication of immigration and refugee cases (dollars)

Financial, human resources and performance information for the IRB’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase. ⁱⁱ

Planned human resources for Adjudication of immigration and refugee cases

Financial, human resources and performance information for the IRB’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase. ⁱⁱ

Internal Services: planned results

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of Programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct services that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. These services are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Management Services; Materiel Management Services; Acquisition Management Services.

Planning highlights

Effective internal services are fundamental to achieving the IRB’s mandate, setting the strategic direction and overseeing its execution. To that end, the IRB strives to deliver client-centric services that are easy to access, effective and responsive to both internal and external client needs and that are supported by clear service standards.

In 2020–21 and onward, the IRB will continue to strengthen accountability and results, including in relation to planning and performance reporting against outcomes. The Board will improve internal support models to accommodate the significant increase in personnel over the last two years, including strengthening regional management. The IRB will also continue to plan, execute and monitor human resources, accommodation and Information Management / Information Technology (IM/IT) services in support of the additional decision-making capacity provided by Budget 2019.

In the year ahead and beyond, the Board will undertake efforts to become a digital organization that provides a user-centric digital experience that is efficient and focused on quality. This will be achieved through shifting manual, paper-based processes to digital ones, ensuring an effective exchange of information with partners, and developing modern tools and systems for members and staff.

From an IM/IT perspective, the IRB, working closely with SSC, will continue to enhance networks, data centres, applications and systems, including hearing room audio and video conferencing services, with the objective of enabling modern, paperless hearings. In addition, investments in digital tools and technologies will be made to support process automation, improved interoperability of systems across immigration portfolio organizations and digitization goals across all the divisions, including enhancements to the MyCase Portal.

Finally, the IRB will undertake activities in support of employee wellness, including addressing employees’ pay-related issues within the IRB’s control while working actively with the Pay Centre on issues outside the Board’s control. In addition to a focus on mental health and well‑being, particular emphasis will be placed on enhancing management skills and competencies among front-line supervisors through improved training, mentoring and continuing to promote a culture of engagement, collaboration, civility and respect.

Planned budgetary financial resources for Internal Services (dollars)

Planned human resources for Internal Services

Spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next three consecutive fiscal years, and compares planned spending for the upcoming year with the current and previous years’ actual spending.

Planned spending

Departmental spending 2017-18 to 2022-23

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory) spending over time.

Planned spending from 2019–20 to 2021–22 includes temporary funding provided in Budgets 2018 and 2019 to increase the number of refugee protection claims being finalized. This temporary funding is currently scheduled to sunset in 2021–22, returning to funding levels similar to those in effect in 2017–18 when capacity to complete finalizations was significantly lower.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibility and Internal Services (dollars)

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned spending for each of the IRB’s core responsibilities and to Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Increased spending through 2019–20, reflects the IRB’s efforts to augment capacity to process and finalize an increased number of refugee protection claims. As previously noted, Budgets 2018 and 2019 have provided temporary funding that is currently scheduled to sunset in 2020–21. The IRB will continue to leverage this temporary funding to further increase capacity and the number of finalizations in 2020–21. Should temporary funding sunset as currently planned, financial resources and capacity to finalize claims will begin to decline in 2021–22. The IRB will be working with IRCC and the Government’s central agencies to address the IRB’s long-term funding interests.

Planned human resources

The following table shows actual, forecast and planned full-time equivalents (FTEs) for each core responsibility in the IRB’s departmental results framework and to Internal Services for the years relevant to the current planning year.

Human resources planning summary for core responsibility and Internal Services

The growth in the IRB’s employee complement from 2018–19 through 2020–21 is the result of additional resources required to resolve additional refugee protection claims. Funding for this increase was provided in Budgets 2018 and 2019, which extends through 2020–21. The decline in staff, beginning in 2021–22 is the result of the scheduled sunsetting of the temporary funding in 2020–21.

Estimates by vote

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

Condensed future-oriented statement of operations

The condensed future‑oriented statement of operations provides an overview of the IRB’s operations for 2019–20 to 2020–21.

The amounts for forecast and planned results in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The amounts for forecast and planned spending presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore 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.^iv

Condensed future‑oriented statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2021 (dollars)

The increase in planned expenses in 2020–21, over 2019–20, is due to additional resources required to augment the IRB’s capacity to process and finalize more refugee protection claims. This increase in expenses is funded from temporary funding provided in Budgets 2018 and 2019.

Additional Information

Corporate Information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister(s): The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino

Institutional head: Richard Wex

Ministerial portfolio: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Enabling instrument(s): Immigration and Refugee Protection Act^v (IRPA)

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.^vi

​Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on the IRB’s website.^vii​

Reporting framework

The IRB approved Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory for 2020–21 are as follows.

Changes to the approved reporting framework since 2019–20

Supporting information on the program inventory

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the IRB’s website.^viii:

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy

GBA Plus

Federal tax expenditures

The IRB’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures that relate to its planned results for 2020–21.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance, and the Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government‑wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.^ix This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis. The tax measures presented in this report are solely the responsibility of the Minister of Finance.

Organizational contact information

For more information, visit the IRB’s website,ⁱ or contact the IRB through the Contact Us.^x webpage or at the address indicated below.

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Minto Place—Canada Building
344 Slater Street, 12th 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 a department over a three year period. Departmental plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité ministérielle)
A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Departmental priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)
A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. 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)
A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.

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

experimentation (expérimentation)
The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare, the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works and what doesn’t. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.

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 assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2020–21 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities refer 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 initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative in which two or more federal organizations 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 reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision-making, accountability and transparency.

plan (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.

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.

result (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.

strategic outcome (résultat stratégique)
A long-term and enduring benefit to Canadians that is linked to the organization’s mandate, vision and core functions.

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.