IRCC Anti-Racism Strategy 2.0 (2021-2024) – Conclusion: The Way Forward

The success of the journey toward the elimination of racism in IRCC’s policies, services and people management practices will require our unflinching commitment to shift the culture of our organization in an anti-racist direction. We will work together to build sustainable change toward racial equity by continuing to meaningfully engage with IRCC employees at all levels, external stakeholders, other government organizations, and Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities.

We are mindful that the long-term path to eliminate racism is fraught with challenges that can only be overcome with humility, courage and resolve. Anti-Racism work will need to be built into IRCC’s priorities with requisite resources. In the absence of dedicated resources, Anti-Racism may suffer from a low level of integration into the Department’s work. The possibility of a domino effect whereby inadequate resources combine with apathy and hesitance to changing systems would run the risk of losing the momentum of Anti-Racism initiatives. The risk of a stalled or derailed Strategy would be the potential entrenchment of low levels of trust in the capacity of the organization to affect positive change toward equity. The result would be a downward spiral built on an inability to attract and retain talent, blocked potential for innovation, and a less competitive immigration system that would make us less able to fulfill the mandate of our organization.

The combined efforts of IRCC management and staff in crafting the series of Anti-Racism actions, and reporting, monitoring and systems change frameworks of the Strategy aim to mitigate these risks and seize the opportunity to position IRCC as a leading equitable and inclusive organization in areas of anti-racist policy development, service delivery and workplace practices.