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Message from the Minister

I am pleased to present Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC) Departmental Performance Report for 2009–2010.

Canada’s recovery from the recent economic downturn continues to outpace other G7 countries. Immigration is playing an important role in that, and in helping to mitigate slowing labour force growth. Indeed, in the face of the recession, while other countries were cutting immigration, our Government maintained historically-high immigration levels. We welcomed more than half a million permanent and temporary residents in 2009. This represents one of the highest relative levels of immigration in the developed world.

We undertook important consultations with provinces, territories, stakeholders and the general public on how to better align our immigration intake with Canada’s labour market needs. Following these consultations, we implemented a second set of Ministerial Instructions under our Action Plan for Faster Immigration. These will help reduce the backlog of federal skilled worker applications, better manage the volume of new applications and their processing times, and respond quickly to Canada’s evolving labour market needs.

We proposed improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including penalties for employers who fail in their commitments to their employees. We also made changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program to better protect these workers, and make it easier and faster for them and their families to obtain permanent residence in Canada. These changes include implementing the “Juana Tejada Law,” which eliminates the requirement that caregivers undergo a second medical examination.

We introduced legislation to crack down on crooked immigration consultants who promote fraud in our immigration program, as well as victimize those who dream of immigrating to this great country. We also introduced legislation that will strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship by making citizenship more difficult to obtain—and easier to lose—through fraud, trickery and deceit.

In addition, we maintained our commitment to family reunification and humanitarian goals. Following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, for example, we helped families affected by the disaster to reunite through special immigration measures, and we fast-tracked the process to unite more than 200 adopted Haitian children with their adoptive parents in Canada. At the same time, we joined with the international community in imposing a moratorium on new adoptions out of Haiti.

We set out to fix Canada’s broken asylum system, which was too vulnerable to abuse by bogus asylum claimants and human traffickers. Our balanced refugee reforms will give faster protection to genuine refugees fleeing persecution, and will make it easier to deport unfounded claimants who abuse Canada’s generosity.

CIC officers serving overseas and in Canada made over two million decisions on immigration and citizenship applications. Public support that exists for high levels of legal immigration is testimony to their success at ensuring our immigration and citizenship laws are respected, that fraud and abuse of program integrity are minimized, and that our immigration system treats everyone fairly and in accordance with the rule of law.

We unveiled Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship. This new citizenship study guide and its associated test focus on Canadian history, institutions and values, and emphasize the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. In addition to helping 150,000 newcomers prepare for their citizenship test, Discover Canada offers a valuable source of information for all Canadians. Since it was launched in November 2009, Discover Canada has, in fact, become one of the Government of Canada’s most in-demand publications. CIC received 260,000 requests for printed copies, and a special audio version has been downloaded from our website more than 437,000 times since it was made available in April 2010.

We updated the Multiculturalism Program’s objectives, placing greater emphasis on integration, which we are accomplishing through projects that promote cooperation and understanding between different religious and ethnic communities, a better understanding of Canadian history, civic pride and historical commemoration, and respect for our shared democratic values and historically grounded institutions. Through its new objectives, the Multiculturalism Program will help build an integrated, socially cohesive society, improve the responsiveness of institutions to the needs of a diverse population, and actively engage in international discussions on multiculturalism.

The Government of Canada is committed to helping newcomers settle and succeed. As the ability to speak one of our official languages is key to finding meaningful employment and successfully integrating into Canadian society, CIC launched an exciting pilot program to mail vouchers to newcomers in three provinces, encouraging them to have their language abilities assessed and to enrol in free language training. Language training vouchers empower newcomers by giving them more responsibility over who provides their language training, and encourage competition in the immigration settlement sector.

In addition, the Government signed a one-year extension to the Canada—Ontario Immigration Agreement that carries on our support for immigrant settlement programs. We also continued to develop a performance measurement strategy for settlement and integration programming to ensure that we are achieving the best possible results.

In November 2009, the federal, provincial and territorial governments launched the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, which sets forth a common approach to providing timely, consistent, transparent and fair assessment and recognition processes for internationally trained workers. In addition to the Framework, the Foreign Credentials Referral Office launched a number of initiatives in 2009-2010, including an employer’s roadmap and professional occupation fact sheets designed to help employers and internationally trained workers better understand the foreign credential recognition process.

CIC is constantly working to transform and modernize how we do business. For example, this past year, CIC’s e-suite of services was expanded beyond international students to allow temporary residents in Canada—including workers and visitors—to apply on-line for work permits, visitor records and post-graduation work permits.

Finally, in March 2010, we demonstrated our commitment to transparency and open government by posting our most requested statistics on our website on a quarterly basis. This initiative received praise from the Information Commissioner for exemplifying “the kind of proactive disclosure that I and my office have been promoting as an imperative to increase government accountability, efficiency and innovation.”

These accomplishments could not succeed without the support and engagement of all CIC staff members. I want to thank employees of the Department for their ongoing commitment and dedication to the work that is crucial to Canada’s continued strength as a strong, free and democratic country.

Section I – Overview

Raison d’être

Responsibilities

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)[note 1] selects foreign nationals as permanent and temporary residents and offers Canada’s protection to refugees. The Department develops Canada’s admissibility policy, which sets the conditions for entering and remaining in Canada; it also conducts, in collaboration with its partners, the screening of potential permanent and temporary residents to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians. Fundamentally, the Department builds a stronger Canada by helping immigrants and refugees settle and fully integrate into Canadian society and the economy, and by encouraging and facilitating their ultimate acquisition of Canadian citizenship. To achieve this, CIC operates 46 in-Canada points of service and 86 points of service in 73 countries.

CIC’s broad mandate is partly derived from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada is responsible for the Citizenship Act of 1977 and shares responsibility with the Minister of Public Safety for the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), which came into force following major legislative reform in 2002. CIC and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)[note 2] support their respective ministers in the administration and enforcement of IRPA. The organizations work collaboratively to achieve and balance the objectives of the immigration and refugee programs. In October 2008, responsibility for the administration of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was transferred to CIC from the Department of Canadian Heritage. Under the Act, CIC promotes the integration of individuals and communities into all aspects of Canadian society, and helps to build a stronger, more socially cohesive society.

Jurisdiction over immigration is a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial governments under section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867. Under IRPA and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, with the approval of the Governor in Council, has signed agreements with the provinces and territories to facilitate the coordination and implementation of immigration policies and programs.

CIC’s Vision for a Stronger Canada

A safe and secure country with a shared bond of citizenship and values; a country that contributes to support our humanitarian tradition and draws the best from the world to help build a nation that is economically, socially and culturally prosperous.

CIC’s Mission

CIC and its partners will build a stronger Canada by:

• Developing and implementing policies, programs and services that:
  • facilitate the arrival of persons and their integration into Canada in a way that maximizes their contribution to the country while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians;
  • maintain Canada’s humanitarian tradition by protecting refugees and people in need of protection;
  • enhance the values and promote the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship; and
  • reach out to all Canadians and foster increased intercultural understanding and an integrated society with equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, ethnicity and religion.
• Advancing global migration policies in a way that supports Canada’s immigration and humanitarian objectives.

Note: The Department’s vision and mission were updated since the 2009–2010 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) was published to reflect objectives of the Multiculturalism Portfolio.

Strategic Outcomes and Program Activity Architecture

CIC’s three strategic outcomes (SO) describe the long-term results that the Department’s programs are designed to achieve. The Department’s current Program Activity Architecture (PAA), summarized in this section, is a reporting framework that provides an inventory of departmental program activities and links them to these strategic outcomes. The PAA also provides a foundation for financial and performance reporting to Parliament. In 2009–2010, CIC adjusted its PAA to include the Multiculturalism Portfolio.

Strategic Outcomes	Program Activities	Program Sub-Activities
1. Migration that significantly benefits Canada’s economic, social and cultural development, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians	1. Immigration Program	1.1 Immigration Policy and Program Development 1.2 Selection and Processing of Permanent Residents 1.3 Processing of Permanent Resident Cards
	2. Temporary Resident Program	2.1 Temporary Resident Policy and Program Development 2.2 Selection and Processing of Temporary Residents
2. International recognition and acceptance of the principles of managed migration consistent with Canada’s broader foreign policy agenda, and protection of refugees in Canada	3. Canada’s Role in International Migration and Protection	3.1 International Migration Policy Development 3.2 Contributions to International Organizations
	4. Refugee Program	4.1 Refugee Policy and Program Development 4.2 Selection and Processing of Resettled Protected Persons (Government-assisted Refugees and Privately Sponsored Refugees) 4.3 Processing of Asylum Applicants 4.4 Pre-removal Risk Assessment 4.5 Interim Federal Health Program
3. Successful integration of newcomers into society and promotion of Canadian citizenship	5. Integration Program	5.1 Settlement/Resettlement Policy and Program Development 5.2 Foreign Credentials Referral Office 5.3 Settlement Program 5.4 Grant to Quebec for the Canada–Quebec Accord 5.5 Immigration Loan Program 5.6 Resettlement Assistance Program
	6. Citizenship Program[note a]	6.1 Citizenship Policy and Program Development 6.2 Citizenship Processing 6.3 Citizenship Promotion 6.4 Multiculturalism: Engagement and Inclusion
7. Internal Services		7.1 Governance and Management Support 7.2 Resource Management Services 7.3 Asset Management Services

a. After the Multiculturalism Portfolio was transferred to CIC from the Department of Canadian Heritage, CIC added 6.4 Multiculturalism: Engagement and Inclusion to the Citizenship Program. CIC revised its PAA in 2009-2010, with further adjustments to come into force in 2011–2012 to better reflect the Department’s mandate, including identification of multiculturalism at the program activity level.

Performance Summary

2009-10 Financial Resources ($ Millions)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
1,392.8	1,624.1	1,576.9

2009-10 Human Resources (FTEs)

Planned	Actual	Difference
3,946	4,451	(505)

Explanation of change: Total authorities included planned spending of $1,392.8 million plus $231.3 million provided through Supplementary Estimates and additional statutory requirements for a total of $1,624.1 million. The increased authorities included additional funding for settlement contributions, the new visa requirements for Mexico, backlog reduction, the Temporary Resident Biometrics Project, foreign credential recognition and temporary funding for IT infrastructure. Also included in the increased authorities are resources transferred from Canadian Heritage to CIC for the Multiculturalism Program and the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP), and funding to support Canada’s initial response to the earthquake in Haiti.

Actual spending was lower than total authorities by $47.2 million. Operating resources totalling $26.0 million lapsed, primarily due to lower than projected costs for the new visa requirements for Mexico, reduced Interim Federal Health Program costs relating to CIC’s response to the Haiti earthquake, and other general operating lapses. Lower than planned expenditures in Multiculturalism and CHRP grants and contributions programs resulted in $21.2 million in grants and contributions lapsing.

Strategic Outcome 1: Migration that significantly benefits Canada’s economic, social and cultural development, while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians

Performance Indicator	Target	2009-2010 Performance
Income from all sources (investment, employment earnings, self-employment and employment insurance) for skilled worker principal applicants after three years compared to Canadian benchmark	Principal applicant income is stabilized and/or improved relative to the Canadian benchmark by 2012	The average income from all sources for skilled worker principal applicants three years after arrival has been rising steadily since 2005 (based on 2005, 2006 and 2007 tax years) relative to the Canadian benchmark. [note 3]

($ millions)

Program Activity	2008-09 Actual Spending	2009-10				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes (Economic)
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
1. Immigration Program	219.2	113.4	127.3	160.3	157.5	Strong economic growth
2. Temporary Resident Program	79.9	59.0	77.1	80.7	65.9	Strong economic growth
Total for SO 1	299.1	172.4	204.4	241.0	223.4

Strategic Outcome 2: International recognition and acceptance of the principles of managed migration consistent with Canada’s broader foreign policy agenda, and protection of refugees in Canada

Performance Indicator	Target	2009-2010 Performance
Number of protected persons and Convention refugees granted permanent residence	23,600–27,200 persons	Canada provided protection to 22,846 refugees in 2009. [note 4]
Percentage of positions initiated or supported by Canada that are eventually reflected in international policy debate	CIC responds to ad hoc requests; not possible to forecast demand accurately	Canada has successfully advanced acceptance of the principles of managed migration internationally. In particular, the development of the CIC–SEGOB (Mexico Interior Ministry) engagement has enhanced collaboration on migration; in addition, Canada has been assisting Mexico in developing themes in preparation for hosting the 2010 Global Forum on Migration and Development. CIC has chaired the Working Party on Migration of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for the past three years. This year, the Department participated in the “High-Level Policy Forum on Migration: Towards Responsive, Effective and Fair Migration Policies” in Paris in June 2009. At the 2009 Five Country Conference (FCC), CIC strongly promoted widening the scope to include strategic discussions on migration management. As a result the United Kingdom added a migration management seminar to the FCC meeting planned for 2010 that it is hosting. With the European Commission, CIC has succeeded in both restarting and expanding high-level dialogue to include pre-policy discussion on the future of managed migration and information sharing. CIC was successful this year in proposing the creation of a Working Group on Budget Reform to examine how core functions are funded by the International Organization for Migration, consistent with the Government of Canada’s own focus on measurable performance management. CIC played a critical role in negotiations that resulted in adoption by the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees of a conclusion on protracted refugee situations. A conclusion is defined as an internationally agreed-upon set of standards.

($ millions)

Program Activity	2008-2009 Actual Spending	2009-2010				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes (International)
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
3. Canada’s Role in International Migration and Protection	2.2	4.0	4.0	3.0	2.3	A safe and secure world through international engagement
4. Refugee Program	112.2	106.3	106.3	121.4	118.7	A safe and secure world through international engagement
Total for SO 2	114.4	110.3	110.3	124.4	121.0

Strategic Outcome 3: Successful integration of newcomers into society and promotion of Canadian citizenship

Performance Indicator	Target	2009-2010 Performance
Income from all sources (investment, employment earnings, self-employment and employment insurance) for all immigration categories after five years and after 10 years, compared to Canadian benchmark	Improvement in immigrant incomes relative to Canadian average by 2012	Immigrant income from all sources has steadily increased over the 2002 to 2007 period (the period for which the latest data are available) in comparison to the Canadian benchmark. The gap has narrowed between the immigrants in the after five years category and the Canadian benchmark. In 2002, the immigrant income from all sources averaged 72% of the Canadian benchmark and increased to 79% in 2007. The same can be said for the after 10 years’ category where the gap narrowed from 76% to 86%. [note 5]
Social participation measured by donor and volunteer rates	Maintain or improve on current levels of 80% giving and 20% volunteerism by immigrants	According to the 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating, immigrants were slightly less likely to give to charities and nonprofit organizations than those who were Canadian-born (82% vs. 85%), but they gave noticeably larger amounts when they contributed ($505 vs. $423). On the volunteering front, immigrants were less likely than native-born Canadians to volunteer (40% vs. 49%). However, those immigrants who did volunteer contributed slightly more hours (171 vs. 163) annually. CIC has maintained its targets over the 2000–2007 period, the period for which the latest data are available. [note 6]
Increased participation of new and established Canadians in citizenship events	50 off-site[note 7] citizenship events annually by 2011	In 2009–2010 the Department delivered 429 off-site citizenship ceremonies, which represented approximately 29% of ceremonies.  This represents an increase of nearly 10% from the previous year, due in part to the increased number of partnerships developed in the regions and in particular the work of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC).  Initially the ICC partnered with Red Deer, Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), however, the ICC now works with most regional offices and provinces.

($ millions)

Program Activity	2008-2009 Actual Spending	2009-2010				Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes (Social)
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
5. Integration Program	825.9	919.0	921.5	975.6	965.7	Diverse society that promotes linguistic duality and social inclusion
6. Citizenship Program	77.5	27.3	27.3	78.4	62.1	Diverse society that promotes linguistic duality and social inclusion
Total for SO 3	903.4	946.3	948.8	1,054.0	1,027.8

($ millions)

Program Activity	2008-2009 Actual Spending	2009-2010
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
7. Internal Services [note a]	—	129.3	129.3	204.7	204.7
Total Department Spending	1,316.9	1,358.3	1,392.8	1,624.1	1,576.9

Note: For an explanation of variances by program activity, see Section II

a. Commencing in the 2009–2010 Estimates cycle, the resources for the Internal Services Program activity are displayed separately from other program activities; they are no longer distributed among the remaining program activities, as was the case in previous Main Estimates. This has affected the comparability of information by program activity between fiscal years

Contribution of CIC Departmental Priorities to Strategic Outcomes

The following priorities continued to be the primary focus of the Department’s management agenda in 2009–2010. These operational and management priorities supported the achievement of results for all seven of CIC’s program activities, as the following describes in more detail.

Operational Priorities

Integrating Policy across Departmental Program Activities
Type: Ongoing
Status: Met all
Links to Strategic Outcome 1, 2 and 3

CIC launched the 2010–2015 Strategic Plan in 2009–2010. This plan frames the Department’s direction, links the work of each CIC employee to the Department’s overall vision, and helps integrate programs and policies Department-wide. Furthermore, the Department’s work to modernize the Immigration Program includes measures that have policy, operational, technological and service implications. In support of these efforts, federal–provincial–territorial (FPT) ministers responsible for immigration endorsed the development of a shared FPT vision for Canada’s immigration system in early 2010, which will guide officials across the Department in achieving joint objectives for the Immigration Program.

CIC regularly undertakes medium-term planning exercises that bring together employees to support the development of horizontal and integrated policy initiatives. These exercises aim to identify trends and challenges that Canada will face in the next three to five years, in order to develop forward-looking, evidence-based policy directions and options for CIC’s immigration, citizenship and multiculturalism programs. The Department also established new terms of reference for the Policy Committee to provide senior management with a collaborative and horizontal forum for discussion and decision making on policy issues and proposals that support departmental priorities.

CIC’s Metropolis Project facilitates knowledge transfer of policy-relevant research between Canadian and international researchers and policy makers. The Project has seen increased interest and attendance at its international and national conferences where comparative research results and best practices are discussed. The Metropolis Project has informed strategic, integrated policy development through the transfer of research from the five Metropolis Centres of Excellence to CIC’s program and policy branches.

Improving Client Service
Type: Ongoing
Status: Mostly met
Links to Strategic Outcome 1, 2 and 3

In 2009–2010, CIC continued to deliver on its commitment to provide a transformed, innovative suite of programs and services. CIC focused on giving clients better self-service options through expanding web-based tools and introducing a new service declaration and service standards. CIC also continued testing its centralized intake vision and piloted initiatives to test shared responsibility with key stakeholders. Highlights of accomplishments include:

• expanding CIC’s e-suite of services to allow temporary residents to apply on-line for work permits, visitor records and post-graduation work permits;
• posting a Service Declaration commitment including Phase I of CIC’s Service Standards on the Department’s website;
• testing an intake office for federal skilled worker applications and a “virtual” processing office in support of the Family Class movement from the Port-au-Prince mission—to date both offices have demonstrated the potential to centralize file creation and back-end processes such as fee reimbursement;
• undertaking a number of other projects in regions in Canada, as well as overseas, to move work to where additional officer resources were located in order to examine the potential to centralize decision making supported by place-based risk identification;
• expanding the Business Express Program (BEP) framework of the New Delhi mission to include temporary foreign workers, which shortened the processing time to days rather than months and also produced approval rates over 99 percent (a BEP was also established in Mexico, where 53 registered businesses had similar results to those obtained in New Delhi);
• establishing the Student Partners Program in 20 member colleges between missions in India and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges—the program is now expanding to more colleges;
• deciding to register all applications on receipt thereby having up-to-date information on these applications and better serving sponsors of CIC’s Family Class movement;
• setting up a special unit in Nairobi to tackle the backlog of spousal and common-law partner cases, resulting in more visas issued in that category during the first half of 2010 (840) than during the full year of 2009 (683); and
• developing a streamlined approach to expedite the processing of applications for criminal rehabilitation, which will reduce waiting times for accepted applications from 24 months to 6 months and waiting times for rejected applications from 24 months to 12 months.

The reason this operational priority was “mostly met” is that the timelines for the web-based scheduling tool were revised to accommodate a change in scope, and the identification of partnership opportunities with other federal government departments is ongoing.

Management Priorities

Public Service Renewal
Type: Previously committed to
Status: Met all
Links to Strategic Outcome 1, 2 and 3

Building on the momentum of the past two years, CIC has continued to work diligently on the four priority areas set for 2009–2010. CIC implemented an integrated approach to business and human resources planning; surpassed its post-secondary recruitment targets for the past three years; made significant progress with employee learning plans and leadership development programs; renewed its focus on the managers’ community; and began modernizing its systems and exploring the use of new technologies.

CIC is committed to furthering its human resources renewal agenda to ensure that it continues to maintain a strong and diverse work force that excels in delivering CIC policies, programs and services, with the ultimate objective of building a stronger Canada. CIC’s Public Service Renewal efforts continue to focus on ensuring that the Department has the specialized knowledge, technical competencies and skills needed to deliver its services at the highest level possible.

Global Case Management System
Type: Previously committed to
Status: Met all
Links to Strategic Outcome 1, 2 and 3

The Global Case Management System (GCMS) is a critical component of the infrastructure that will help CIC continue to accomplish its strategic outcomes and priorities. The GCMS is a secure, reliable and efficient case management tool that will integrate citizenship and immigration data worldwide.

The GCMS was first deployed in 2004 for the Citizenship Program. Several challenges and complexities arose, leading CIC to re-evaluate strategies for completing the project and revise its go-forward plan. The revised plan was approved, and the GCMS is currently in the testing phase for the second release, which will focus on the overseas immigration program. This major Crown project has met all of its major milestones to date, allowing the Department to deploy on schedule within Canada in May 2010 and to the first international mission in June 2010.

Web of Rules
Type: New
Status: Met all
Links to Strategic Outcome 3

In 2009–2010 CIC proceeded to reduce and streamline internal processes to strengthen accountability and increase efficiency and responsiveness through the following:

• The Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) has been working with CIC partners toward a more comprehensive service delivery approach, beginning with pre-arrival support to prospective immigrants that includes broader settlement planning to facilitate a seamless transition to Canada and the Canadian labour market. The FCRO is also building on CIC’s systems development work to establish a platform to track results, in particular outcomes-based results.

• In 2009–2010, the Department tabled its action plan with the Treasury Board Secretariat outlining how it planned to contribute to the Government of Canada action plan to reform the administration of grants and contributions programs. CIC is implementing the modernized terms and conditions for its Settlement Program, which provides service provider organizations (SPOs) with more flexibility in delivery of contribution agreement programming. For example, simplified costing and reporting protocols are now in place and SPOs now have the option of negotiating a single contribution agreement, rather than multiple ones with CIC. The number of calls for proposals is being reduced, their content was refined to operate on consistent principles and be more transparent, and related service standards were developed and issued. The Department also strengthened its management control framework for grants and contributions, with a clearer oversight process and supporting tools.

• CIC initiated a policy renewal exercise to simplify its suite of management policies and make them more accessible. After developing an initial inventory of all existing CIC management policies, CIC adopted a common architecture for the renewal of management policy instruments that was approved.

Risk Analysis

CIC has continued to maintain high standards of risk management and mitigation through the use of its corporate risk profile (CRP), which it monitors quarterly. CIC’s wide range of risk analysis tools and processes are incorporated through two of its operational priorities, integrating policy across departmental program activities, and improving client service. CIC has also implemented risk mitigation strategies within all of its major operational procedures. Through scheduled review and monitoring of the CRP and its integration with the business planning process, the organization is able to identify ways to strengthen mitigation strategies and overall risk management performance.

Global Competition and Immigration

Canada is facing increasing competition from other countries with managed migration systems, making it more challenging to attract the highly skilled immigrants Canada wants and needs. Further, in recent years, Canada’s ability to deliver the most efficient immigration system has come under strain, with pressures such as large backlogs, lengthening wait times and, recently, the global economic downturn. Potential impacts of these challenges include the loss of a skilled work force that would weaken the Canadian economy. To compete for skilled immigrants throughout the world and mitigate against these challenges, CIC undertakes a range of initiatives that promote Canada as a destination of choice and adopts policies that encourage the retention of newcomers. For example, the Ministerial Instructions that came into effect in November 2008, which focused on 38 in-demand occupations, reduced the federal skilled worker backlog; and, with the introduction of the Canadian Experience Class, temporary foreign workers and international students are offered a more direct route to permanent residence. The new Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications was launched by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to help the integration of internationally trained workers into the Canadian work force. The federal, provincial and territorial governments work with key stakeholders to provide timely and consistent assessment and recognition processes of foreign qualifications.

Program Integrity and Security

Public and international confidence in the integrity of Canada’s immigration program relies on CIC’s ability to maintain an effective admission and selection process that also protects the health, safety and security of Canadians. The integrity of the Department’s Immigration Program is put at risk through instances of misrepresentation, fraudulent documents and unscrupulous consultants. The impact of these challenges includes loss of public and international confidence in the Canadian system; the entry of individuals who pose health, safety and security risks; and ongoing increased abuse of the citizenship, immigration and refugee programs. CIC introduced a new Permanent Resident Card with enhanced security features, introduced visa requirements for citizens of Mexico and the Czech Republic, and made changes to the Canada–U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement to ensure that potential refugee claimants from countries under a temporary suspension of removals that arrive at a Canada–U.S. land border are turned back to the United States. CIC is continuing efforts to strengthen the integrity of its programs. As well, CIC introduced legislation in March 2010 to reform the refugee status determination system, which received royal assent in June 2010.[note 8] In the March 2010 Speech from the Throne,[note 9] the Government committed to taking steps to shut down unscrupulous immigration consultants and to introducing legislation to speed up the revocation of citizenship of those who have concealed war crimes. Significant work was undertaken in 2009–2010 to develop legislative proposals on immigration consultants and citizenship revocation.

Expenditure Profile

Departmental Spending Trend

During 2009–2010 CIC spent $1,576.9 million to meet the objectives of its program activities.

The following graph illustrates CIC’s spending trend from previous years and planned spending for future years to 2012–2013.

[D]

Grants and Contributions

Overall, grants and contributions spending increased significantly between 2006–2007 and 2009–2010, due to settlement contribution funding for all provinces and territories. There were also additional obligations under the grant for the Canada–Quebec Accord on immigration. Total grants and contributions funding is expected to stabilize in future years at approximately 63 percent of total planned spending.

Operating Expenditures

Despite increased funding for certain initiatives, the overall level of operating expenditures remains relatively constant. Additional operating funding has been provided, for example, for the Interim Federal Health Program, backlog reduction and the implementation of a visa requirement for Mexico. These increases, however, have been largely offset by the effects of government-wide reductions, transfers to other departments, and reductions due to forgone revenue.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan

2009–2010 Financial Resources under Canada’s Economic Action Plan ($ Millions)

Planned Spending	–
Total Authorities	7.3
Actual Spending	4.6

Actual spending was lower than authorities by $2.7 million, primarily due to delays in establishing contribution agreements with service providers.

Voted and Statutory Items
($ millions)

Vote # or Statutory Item (S)	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2007-08 Actual Spending	2008-09 Actual Spending	2009-10 Main Estimates	2009-10 Actual Spending[note a]
1	Operating expenditures[note b]	435.3	478.1	447.4	558.3
5	Grants and contributions[note c]	626.0	783.3	866.9	938.5
7	Debt write-off	1.6	—	—	0.8
(S)	Minister of Citizenship and Immigration — Salary and motor car allowance	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	41.4	43.7	43.9	54.4
(S)	Refunds of amounts credited to revenues in previous years	15.0	11.7	—	24.8
(S)	Court awards	0.1	—	—	—
(S)	Loans to immigrants and refugees to facilitate the arrival of newcomers pursuant to section 88 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Non-Budgetary)	—	—	—	—
Total		1,119.5	1,316.9	1,358.3	1,576.9

a. Total actual spending from the 2009–2010 Public Accounts. For an explanation of variances by program activity, see Section II.

b. Total operating expenditures in 2009–2010 increased by $80.2 million over the previous year. This is mainly attributable to additional spending authorized for the Interim Federal Health Program, increased operating expenditures for programs transferred from Canadian Heritage, one-time spending for information technology infrastructure and citizenship backlog, and additional salary-related costs.

c. Total actual spending on grants and contributions in 2009–2010 is $155.2 million higher than the previous year, primarily due to increasing obligations under the Canada–Ontario Immigration Agreement and the Canada–Quebec Accord, and new grants and contributions spending transferred from Canadian Heritage.

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