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.

Automatic Issuance of Post-Graduate Work Permits

Recommendation 1

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada automatically issue post-graduate work permits to students who have successfully completed their studies.

Comprehensive Plan for the Labour Market

Recommendation 2

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, working with Employment and Social Development Canada and the governments of Quebec, the provinces and territories, which are more aware of the labour needs in their jurisdictions, take immediate steps to address the labour force crisis in Canada through developing comprehensive economic, education and training plans that will address labour market needs into the near-, mid- and long-term future.

Immediate Issuance of Acknowledgment of Receipt

Recommendation 3

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada issue an acknowledgement of receipt electronically when the file is submitted online.

Waiving UNHCR Determination Requirements for Privately Sponsored Refugees

Recommendation 4

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada waive the UNHCR refugee determination requirements for all privately sponsored refugees while respecting the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces that receive and approve private sponsorship applications.

Expanding the List of Partners for Refugee Referral

Recommendation 5

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada end its over reliance on the UNHCR to select and process refugee applications and instead expand the list of referral partners to include other credible, established organizations to help select and process refugee applications.

Program Integrity Framework for Sponsorship Agreement Holders

Recommendation 6

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada address the concerns regarding the Program Integrity Framework and the new set of requirements for Sponsorship Agreement Holders.

Providing Clear Options for Citizenship Ceremonies

Recommendation 7

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada make clear to all individuals that it is their choice to choose the citizenship ceremonies process best suited to their needs; and that while in-person ceremonies should be the default option, virtual ceremonies should also be allowed; and further, that any self-administered oath of citizenship be subject to robust integrity measures.

Increasing Visa Office Capacity

Recommendation 8

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada increase the capacity of visa offices to process applications, and notably, to communicate effectively with clients.

Processing of Applications by Departmental Employees

Recommendation 9

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s processing of applications in overseas visa application centres be done by departmental employees and not by outside contractors.

Auditing Online Portal and Forms

Recommendation 10

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada audit the online portal process for bugs and errors, commit to immediately correcting these bugs and errors, and ensure that all public facing internet forms are working properly.

Consulting with Users of the Online System and Portal

Recommendation 11

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada consult with users of the online system and portals so that the government can properly troubleshoot the frequent portal glitches and technical problems.

Plain Language and Improving French

Recommendation 12

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada immediately implement the use of plain language in all of its application processes, and that the website be updated to improve the quality of the written French in the online application process for francophone applicants.

Special Immigration Measures for Afghans

Recommendation 13

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada immediately ensure that all individuals and their immediate families who supported the various Canadian missions in Afghanistan be granted special immigration measures into Canada without delay and that, if they have already undergone previous biometric examination as part of those missions, they be considered exempt until they are landed on Canadian soil.

Public Policy for Non-Discriminatory Treatment of Refugees

Recommendation 14

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada create a public policy to ensure that, when there is a humanitarian crisis, all refugee applications are processed using the same criteria regardless of country of origin.

Accountability of Government in Clearing the Backlog

Recommendation 15

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada set a deadline to clear the backlog and put in place accountability measures to ensure that the deadline is met; and that a special task force be established and a deadline be set to process older backlog applications.

Real-time Updates on Cases

Recommendation 16

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada update its online and public facing internet systems to provide real-time case updates to individuals, their appointed advocates and anyone else they authorize to see their private information on their behalf.

Accurate Processing Times

Recommendation 17

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada post accurate processing times online.

Work Permits for Asylum Claimants in Canada

Recommendation 18

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada grant open work permits to asylum claimants in Canada without delay.

Temporary Public Policy for Protected Persons

Recommendation 19

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada create a temporary public policy for protected persons to allow them to obtain permanent residence automatically, as they have waited in the backlog, in some instances, for years.

Acting on Ministerial Mandate Letter for Accelerated Family Reunification

Recommendation 20

That the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship act on his mandate letter to speed up family reunification applications for both refugee applications and family class applications and that the government regularly publish the processing times for these streams.

Temporary Public Policy for Issuance of Open Work Permits

Recommendation 21

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada issue open work permits to all undocumented people and temporary foreign workers in Canada.

Temporary Public Policy on Regularization

Recommendation 22

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada create a temporary public policy to regularize undocumented people and temporary foreign workers in Canada, including caregivers who have worked in Canada to obtain permanent residence, and where the backlog has directly impacted their lives and livelihood.

Creation of Permanent Residence Portal for Caregivers

Recommendation 23

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada create a specific permanent residence portal for the caregiver programs.

Removing Barriers for Home Support Workers, Home Child Care Providers and Caregivers

Recommendation 24

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada remove the cap per program for the Home Support and Home Child Care Provider Pilots, and remove the two year work experience requirement for the Live-in Caregiver Program.

Outlining Criteria for a Clearer Understanding of the Determination Process

Recommendation 25

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada develop proper criteria that are outlined clearly so that officers and the public can understand how these determinations are made.

Recording of Interviews

Recommendation 26

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or third-party interviews be recorded for accountability purposes, and that the recording may be used as evidence for any judicial review of the application decision.

Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity Training for Officers

Recommendation 27

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada survey various jurisdictions’ immigration officer trainings to determine whether there is a model for training that is most suited to the Canadian context; that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada consequently develop and conduct training to assist officers in making informed decisions with cultural awareness and sensitivity in mind when processing applications and conducting interviews.

Best Practices and New Training for Officers on Genuineness of Marriages

Recommendation 28

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

Training and Hiring Local Officers

Recommendation 29

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada train and hire local officers and teams to specialize in the processing of specific applications and streams.

Provision of Officer Notes to Immigration Applicants

Recommendation 30

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada issue all relevant officer notes to applicants at every stage to ensure that applicants get updates on their files through a more enhanced and efficient system.

Opportunity to Correct Minute Errors in Immigration Applications

Recommendation 31

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada allow minor corrections to be made, including a missing document, and provide sufficient time to submit or correct errors before returning or refusing immigration applications in order to provide more client-oriented service.

Creation of an Immigration Ombudsperson

Recommendation 32

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada create the position of an immigration ombudsperson to oversee the operations of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and who, with actionable powers, would have the authority to supervise processing times for all immigration streams, including temporary immigration streams, and to mandate changes to processing times and methods, as needed.

Processing Those Arriving in Canada from Emergencies Abroad

Recommendation 33

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada create a departmental division independent of others in resources and staffing, for the processing of applications from people in emergency situations.

Investing in Emergency Preparedness

Recommendation 34

That the Government of Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada invest in emergency preparedness programs to respond to global humanitarian crises so that resources are not removed from the delivery of existing programs.

Additional Resources for New Immigration Measures

Recommendation 35

That, when the Government of Canada introduces new immigration measures, additional resources and additional level numbers are provided to meet the demands of the new initiatives.

Housing Supports for Afghan Interpreters

Recommendation 36

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada provide housing supports to Afghan interpreters and their family members who have fled to third countries.

Lifting Quota for Afghans Who Served Canada

Recommendation 37

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada lift the quota for Afghans who served Canada and for their loved ones in need of safety.

Bringing Afghans Who Served Canada to Safety

Recommendation 38

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada urgently and expeditiously bring Afghans who served Canada and their loved ones to safety in Canada.

Additional Funds for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Recommendation 39

That the Government of Canada provide additional staffing and resources at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to fully address the application backlogs and processing delays that have plagued the department for years and caused massive upheaval in the lives of refugees, immigrants, temporary foreign workers, and students.

More Staffing in Call Centres

Recommendation 40

That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada allocate more staffing resources in call centres so that people can receive timely information about their cases.