Question Period Note: Digital Modernization

Modernizing Canada’s migration, citizenship and passport systems.

• A fast, agile and reliable immigration system is critical to Canada’s success and ability to meet the changing needs and expectations of clients.
• IRCC is undergoing a business transformation to modernize its programs and services.
• Through the Digital Platform Modernization (DPM) programme, IRCC is redesigning its business to provide a modern client experience and more efficient immigration system, underpinned by new technologies and data capabilities.
• Ultimately, IRCC’s Digital Platform Modernization programme will enable IRCC to:
o meet expectations for client-focused services and provide a better client experience;
o respond quickly to changing conditions and priorities;
o manage increasing application volumes; and
o better use data to improve programs and keep Canadians safe, healthy and secure.
• Moving forward, we know public confidence in a digitally-enabled immigration system will depend on safeguards to maintain the health, safety, and security of Canadians, to protect against bias and to ensure accessibility for a diverse client population.

If pressed:
• DPM builds on modernization work to date and draws on the Department’s response to the COVID 19 pandemic, which resulted in digital innovation and demonstrated the importance of agility in our programs and services.
• The modernization of Canada’s immigration system is supported by the announcement of $827.3 million in the 2021 federal Budget.
• To ensure readiness to deliver this transformational programme, since 2020 IRCC has focused digital modernization efforts on stabilizing its existing technology infrastructure by upgrading aging software and decreasing system downtime. These efforts are continuing, for example through current work to upgrade foundational technology (Siebel).
• Work on DPM Phase 3 implementation has begun with the first project, rolling out a new online account for clients to enable a seamless client experience.
• Given the scale and complexity of this project, IRCC is supplementing its internal team of experts with private sector suppliers who have proven experience to support the development and implementation of a new operating model and IT platform, using transparent and competitive procurement processes.

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is undertaking a multi-year, multi-phase business modernization and IT renewal initiative known as Digital Platform Modernization (DPM).

• DPM will deliver a new operating model with redesigned and optimized business processes and a new supporting digital platform, with modern capabilities, that will gradually replace IRCC’s aging IT platform (i.e. the Global Case Management System, or GCMS) and other legacy systems.

• The DPM programme will achieve its transformation goals and objectives by delivering three consecutive and overlapping phases.

o Phase 1: “Stabilize” (Dec 2020 – Nov 2021), now complete, was designed to de-risk and stabilize GCMS in advance of Phases 2 and 3, with a focus on reducing the technical debt that had accumulated over the years in the legacy system. Additional investments included cloud technology and capacity that will be leveraged as part of Phase 2.

o Phase 2: “Standardize” (Dec 2021 – Sep 2024), currently underway is building upon elements of Phase 1, and continues to standardize IT operations and reduce technical debt to prepare the department for digital transformation. A significant deliverable of this phase is the upgrade to the foundational technology (Siebel).

o Phase 3: “Enhance (Apr 2021 – Dec 2026), will transform the way that IRCC works and delivers its services to clients and Canadians around the world through the delivery of a new digital platform and the processes and policies that support it.

• The third phase of the DPM initiative (DPM Phase 3) is the most complex and will yield the most significant benefits to Canadians. Budget 2021 committed $827.3 over multiple years to support the modernization of Canada’s immigration system and the development of an enterprise-wide digital platform.

• DPM Phase 3 is designed to achieve a business vision for a modern, digital and data-driven managed migration system. This system will be nimble, flexible and responsive enough to support growing volumes, actively helping us reduce application processing times; improve tools for our officers; meet the Government’s immigration and diversity priorities; and critically respond to the changing needs and expectations of clients as Canada seeks to out-compete other countries for the best and brightest.

• A key activity during the “Definition” stage of DPM Phase 3 (Feb 2022 – October 2023) was engagement with prospective vendors. Following extensive engagement with industry and the Government of Canada, the decision was made to procure two key pieces of technology: a new front-end Client Experience Platform (CXP) and a back-end Case Management Platform (CMP).

• A formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for the front-end Client Experience Platform was posted in January 2023, resulting in two contracts being awarded in July 2023 to Accenture and Salesforce for the delivery, configuration and implementation.

• The Client Experience Platform will provide a new front door for clients to access IRCC’s programs and services and will provide a more simplified and streamlined user experience.

• Work continues towards procuring IRCC’s back-end Case Management Platform (CMP) that will eventually replace the current Global Case Management System (GCMS). The Case Management Platform is where the foundational elements of this business transformation will reside.

• The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Case Management Platform was posted in March of 2024 and closed in May of 2024. Submissions from those pre-qualified vendors, identified during the Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) phase of the procurement, are currently being reviewed and evaluated. It is anticipated that contract award will take place in summer 2024.

• Modernizing the way IRCC delivers immigration programs is critical, so Canadians can continue to enjoy the benefits of immigration. Canada’s managed migration system contributes to Canadian interests in several ways, including by driving economic growth and innovation; growing the population, specifically the labour force to help offset the pace of retirements as Canadians age; enriching and building communities; and contributing to Canada’s diversity and international reputation.

• Modernizing the way IRCC delivers its programs and services will directly benefit Canadians in other ways, too. For example, among the millions of people who interact with IRCC’s services each year are Canadians sponsoring relatives, hiring employees, applying for or renewing passports, and applying for citizenship.

• Overall, modernization will enable IRCC to further the Government’s vision to be “an open and service-oriented organization that operates and delivers programs and services to people and business in simple, modern and effective ways that are optimized for digital and available anytime, anywhere and from any device.”

DPM is part of IRCC’s broader transformation effort

• IRCC is modernizing the way it works, including how it delivers services (e.g., finding better ways to process applications) and the Department’s digital infrastructure (e.g., providing better digital tools for employees and new digital services to meet changing client expectations).

• IRCC has already undertaken extensive work to transform the Department’s numerous business lines, including introducing back-end technology and administrative efficiencies, as well as new client-facing tools and service delivery channels.

• In many ways the COVID 19 pandemic accelerated transformation efforts already underway. For example, during the pandemic, IRCC
o began to hold asylum interviews remotely;
o welcomed new Canadians at virtual citizenship ceremonies;
o became the first country in the world to offer citizenship testing online; and
o expanded the ability to submit applications electronically in some permanent residence streams.

• IRCC also recognizes that clients and Canadians increasingly expect programs and services that are fast, personalized, intuitive and able to respond to changing conditions as quickly as information now moves around the world.

Application volumes and processing times

• An enhanced digital platform will enable us to manage increasing application volumes.

• While we are in the process of defining our processing targets as part of our modernization vision, we expect that the future system will provide clients with faster processing, user-friendly and seamless online services, and real-time updates about their application status.

Anti-racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ARDEI) and Anti-discrimination principles

• IRCC knows that public confidence in a technology-enabled immigration system will depend on safeguards to protect against unintended bias and discrimination, and in ensuring accessibility for a diverse client population. We are committed to embedding the principles of diversity, equity and anti-racism into our modernization journey.

• The modernization of IRCC’s business processes and systems is expected to benefit our diverse client base, including by providing a user experience that is easier and more transparent.

• As part of the Definition stage of the Digital Platform Modernization programme, IRCC is applying an intersectional approach, e.g. anti-racism and Gender Based Analytical lenses, to its work.

• Through DPM Phase 3, IRCC will ensure digital solutions are developed to take into account disparate realities, impacts, and intersectionality on Black, Indigenous and racialized groups by active inclusion of diverse representatives. The program will also review and monitor analytical model building processes to ensure that bias is not replicated or imitated in data gathering and analysis.

• Further, as the programme redesigns business processes and increases the use of automation it will ensure that a credible approach to Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ARDEI) is being applied at every stage and that the necessary attention is being given to both assessing and addressing the inequities and disparities that exist within our systems, ultimately helping the programme to achieve optimal outcomes for employees and Canadians.

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