As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Fairness and Impartiality in the Refugee Program

Recommendation 1

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ensure fairness and impartiality in the Refugee Program of vulnerable populations in line with its international obligations, and implement a consistent approach to emergency response.

Expansion of Special Measures to Humanitarian Crises

Recommendation 2

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada extend the special measures offered to Ukrainians, including the measure to allow for sponsorship of extended family members, to those from other countries and regions that are faced with humanitarian crises.

Increase Levels of Refugees During Humanitarian Crises

Recommendation 3

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada increase the total number of refugees welcomed to Canada when there is a crisis, and not renege on or delay welcoming others whose applications are already waiting.

Racial Equity Review

Recommendation 4

That the Government of Canada conduct a comprehensive racial equity review of Canada’s immigration and refugee system, including legislation, regulations, policies and priorities.

Prioritize Privately Sponsored Refugees

Recommendation 5

That, given there is a significant backlog of at least three years, the Government of Canada ensure there are additional resources provided to process and prioritize privately sponsored refugees.

Permanent Residence for Caregivers from all Streams

Recommendation 6

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada allocate more resources to process caregiver permanent resident applications from all streams expeditiously.

Funding Settlement Services for Temporary Foreign Workers and In-Land Refugee Claimants

Recommendation 7

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada fund settlement agencies to provide services to temporary foreign workers and in-land refugee claimants, while respecting the jurisdiction of Quebec on the acceptance and integration of newcomers.

Reinstate Visa Office Specific Data

Recommendation 8

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada bring back the visa office specific quarterly updates.

Procedural Fairness Throughout the Decision-Making Process

Recommendation 9

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada follow its own mandate and apply the rules of procedural fairness throughout the decision-making process and provide applicants with a fair and unbiased assessment of their applications, meaningful opportunity to receive a response to their concerns about the application not only on paper but in practice, and give decisions in a timely manner.

Recording Applicant Interviews

Recommendation 10

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada record applicant interviews with officials to avoid misunderstandings.

Improving Spousal Sponsorship Interviews

Recommendation 11

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada work with external stakeholders, including with faith community leaders, to establish best practices and new training and guidelines to assist visa officers in the recognition and understanding of different cultural norms of marriage, and how to question applicants in a culturally sensitive way to assess the genuineness of a relationship.

Using the “Family Sponsorship Impact Statement Form”

Recommendation 12

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada consider using the “Family Sponsorship Impact Statement Form” to gather evidence in order to better understand the barriers of this process.

Ensuring the Strict Application of Section 22(2) of Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

Recommendation 13

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ensure the strict application of section 22(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act so that the intention to settle in Canada does not interfere with obtaining temporary resident visas.

Allowing Application for Open Work Permits During Processing

Recommendation 14

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada allow overseas spousal sponsorship applicants to apply for open work permits for their spouses during the processing of their permanent resident application.

Respecting 12-Month Processing Standard

Recommendation 15

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada respect the 12-month processing standard for spousal sponsorship applications.

Temporary Resident Visas for Separated Families

Recommendation 16

That, as a default position, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officers issue temporary resident visas to applicants who have family sponsorship applications pending, with the only possible reason for refusal being based on inadmissibility.

Oversight for the Canada Border Services Agency

Recommendation 17

That the Government of Canada create an independent oversight body for the Canada Border Services Agency and that its mandate includes addressing racism and complaints about racism.

Anti-Racism and Unconscious Bias Training at the Canada Border Services Agency

Recommendation 18

That the Government of Canada implement mandatory and regular seminar-style anti‑bias, anti-racism and cultural awareness training for all staff at the Canada Border Services Agency, from management to front line agents.

Requiring an Independent Assessment of Chinook, E-Tools and Artificial Intelligence

Recommendation 19

That the Government of Canada require an independent assessment and oversight by IT security experts of Chinook, e-tools and the expansion of the use of artificial intelligence in immigration on a mandatory basis; aim for greater transparency with respect to algorithmic impact assessments, privacy assessments and consultations on fairness concerns for using these technologies; and study the cases of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, which have both in the last two years suspended the use of algorithmic systems because these systems have discriminatory biases.

Addressing the Recommendations on Artificial Intelligence and E-Tools in Report 8

Recommendation 20

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada address the recommendations related to the use of artificial intelligence and E-tools at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada contained in Report 8—Differential Treatment in Recruitment and Acceptance Rates of Foreign Students in Quebec and the Rest of Canada.

More Visa Offices in Underserved Areas

Recommendation 21

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada increase, for all visa offices, the ratio of funding to applications processed, hire more visa officers and open new visa offices in underserved regions if security conditions permit.

More Biometrics Collection Sites

Recommendation 22

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada review how it can expand its biometrics collection sites to offer applicants more options nearer to where they live.

Expired Medical Exams

Recommendation 23

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada allow for approved candidates whose medical exams have expired due to long processing delays to arrive in Canada and direct them to take a second, in-country exam if deemed necessary.

Increasing Funding for Ethnocultural Community Groups

Recommendation 24

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada increase funding for ethnocultural community groups to support their work.

Collecting Disaggregated Data on Organizations Serving Newcomer Women

Recommendation 25

That the Government of Canada collect disaggregated data on the level of funding for organizations who provide services and support to women newcomers to Canada, with further breakdowns for women’s organizations serving racialized women.

Preventing Discriminatory and Biased Settlement Agency Contract Management

Recommendation 26

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ensure organizations serving racialized women, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officers assigned to manage their contracts, are not subject to discriminatory practices and biases by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials.

Anti-Racism Quality Assurance for Visa Officer Decisions

Recommendation 27

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada broaden its quality assurance to examine the potential effect of systemic racism and individual bias on visa officer decisions and visa office refusal rates; require the immediate implementation of such anti-racism tools in each visa office; evaluate the results for each office in its next annual review; and publish within a year and a half the aggregate findings of these reviews.

Mandatory and Regular Anti-Racism Training for Visa Officers

Recommendation 28

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada implement mandatory and regular seminar‑style anti-bias, anti-racism and cultural awareness training for all visa officers; discontinue the use of the autonomous, online format for training on these topics; and investigate Australian visa officer training as a possible education model.

Promote Racialized Candidates to All Levels of Foreign Service Positions

Recommendation 29

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada include a focus on visa officers in its strategies to increase representation at intermediate job levels, and remove discrimination and other barriers to the promotion of racialized Canadian candidates for all levels of foreign service positions as visa officers.

Diversity Among Locally Engaged Staff

Recommendation 30

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada consider diversity among locally engaged staff, and promote measures to increase representation among locally engaged staff from different ethnic and cultural groups.

Create Ombudsperson Office

Recommendation 31

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada provide the appropriate resources for the establishment of an ombudsperson’s office to review the department’s policies, receive and review complaints, review regular reports on racism and training procedures; and that the office be empowered to take appropriate enforcement measures in relation to these activities.

Establishing a Legislative Foundation for the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat

Recommendation 32

That the Government of Canada give the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat a legislative foundation to strengthen its work, and subject all government legislation and regulations to a racial equity review.

Working with Experts and Stakeholders to Develop Anti-Racism Training

Recommendation 33

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada work with external experts and internal stakeholders to develop anti-racism training with a gender-based lens, and that this training be mandatory for all employees and contractors.

Facilitating Creation of Employee-Driven Support Groups within the Department

Recommendation 34

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada facilitate the establishment of adequately resourced employee-driven groups to provide support and share experiences with discrimination, and that these groups be a regularized part of the organization.

Providing Decision Makers with Procedural Fairness and Impartiality Training

Recommendation 35

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada establish a Service Delivery Anti‑Racism Working Group and provide mandatory trainings to support decision makers in the understanding of procedural fairness and impartiality.

Improving the Diffusion of Information

Recommendation 36

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada improve the application forms and update their website with as much detail as possible. The website should include transparency detailing the process, including but not limited to criteria that will be used to assess the authenticity of marriages.

Improve Coordination in Settlement Services

Recommendation 37

That the Government of Canada continue to work with provincial and territorial partners, as well as settlement services agencies, to improve coordination and the availability of support for newcomers, respecting the Canada-Québec Accord.