CIMM – Equity in IRCC Programs – May 27, 2024

Key Messages

• When responding to international crises, the Government of Canada tailors each response to meet the unique needs of those who require our support. We often engage and collaborate with diaspora communities in Canada to help determine our response.
• The Government is looking closely at programs and initiatives to assess how they impact different groups of clients, with a view to enhancing equity of access and benefits.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently released the final report of its Strategic Immigration Review, which includes actions to position Canada’s immigration system to adapt quickly and to enable a more equitable and sustainable process for responding to growing humanitarian crises.
• The Strategic Immigration Review includes a commitment to develop a Crisis Response Framework that supports more proactive and predictable responses to crises and other pressures, based on consistently applied criteria including equity considerations.

Supplementary Information

If pressed on why responses are different:

• As global displacement intensifies and becomes more complex, Canada is increasingly being called upon to respond to a range of unique humanitarian situations, including through a migration response, such as facilitative measures like waiving some requirements for existing programs, and/or the creation of new programs.
• Canada has responded to a number of crises in recent years such as Sudan and the situation in Israel and Palestine, employing a mix of measures and supports meant to address the unique needs of each situation. IRCC has implemented a mix of permanent and temporary measures to balance the resettlement of refugees and also the desire for some individuals to return to their country once it is safe to do so.
• Recent initiatives have focused on promoting family reunification for those seeking refuge in Canada and providing facilitative measures for those with humanitarian and protection needs. Situations are examined on a case by case basis, as each humanitarian crisis that Canada responds to is different from those that came before it. IRCC engages and collaborates with diaspora communities in Canada to support this effort.
• IRCC continues to review its programs, policies and processes to assess their fairness, transparency, equity and cultural sensitivity.

If pressed on the Crisis Response Framework:

• Informed by lessons learned from recent responses, IRCC is developing a Crisis Response Framework to improve preparedness when responding to humanitarian crises and other pressures. The Framework seeks to provide the overarching guiding principles and vision for a successful response.
• The Framework will establish a transparent and evidence-based assessment mechanism to inform the type of migration response applicable in particular situations, taking into consideration the needs of affected populations and the need for equitable responses.