Responding to Public Complaints: a Review of the Appointment, Training and Complaint Processes of the Immigration and Refugee Board
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Report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration RESPONDING TO PUBLIC COMPLAINTS: A REVIEW OF THE APPOINTMENT, TRAINING AND COMPLAINT PROCESSES OF THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE BOARD Chair Robert Oliphant SEPTEMBER 2018 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION The proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees are hereby made available to provide greater public access. The parliamentary privilege of the House of Commons to control the publication and broadcast of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights therein are also reserved. Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. 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For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the House of Commons in courts or otherwise. The House of Commons retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission. Also available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca RESPONDING TO PUBLIC COMPLAINTS: A REVIEW OF THE APPOINTMENT, TRAINING AND COMPLAINT PROCESSES OF THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE BOARD Report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration Robert Oliphant Chair SEPTEMBER 2018 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION NOTICE TO READER Reports from committees presented to the House of Commons Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Substantive reports on a subject-matter study usually contain a synopsis of the testimony heard, the recommendations made by the committee, as well as the reasons for those recommendations. STANDING COMMITTEE ON CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CHAIR Robert Oliphant VICE-CHAIRS Jenny Kwan Hon. Michelle Rempel MEMBERS Leona Alleslev Randeep Sarai Gary Anandasangaree Marwan Tabbara Serge Cormier David Tilson Larry Maguire Nick Whalen OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Vance Badaway Brigitte Sansoucy Shaun Chen Jamie Schmale Ali Ehsassi Hon. Kevin Sorenson Joël Godin Brad Trost Alaina Lockhart Dave Van Kesteren Dave MacKenzie Kevin Waugh Eva Nassif Non-voting member, pursuant to Standing Order 104(5). iii CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Evelyn Lukyniuk LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Julie Béchard, Analyst Madalina Chesoi, Acting Analyst Brendan Naef, Analyst iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION has the honour to present its TWENTIETH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the Committee on Tuesday, February 6, 2018, the Committee has studied Immigration and Refugee Board's appointment, training and complaint processes and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................................ xi SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................. 3 RESPONDING TO PUBLIC COMPLAINTS: A REVIEW OF THE APPOINTMENT, TRAINING AND COMPLAINT PROCESSES OF THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE BOARD .................................................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 7 OVERVIEW OF THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE BOARD OF CANADA ................ 8 A. Structure of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada ............................. 9 1. The Refugee Protection Division ......................................................................... 10 2. The Refugee Appeal Division ................................................................................ 11 3. The Immigration Division ...................................................................................... 12 4. The Immigration Appeal Division ....................................................................... 13 B. Members of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada ........................... 13 THREE INTERDEPENDANT PROCESSES: APPOINTMENTS, TRAINING, AND COMPLAINT .......................................................................................................................... 15 A. Appointment Process ...................................................................................................... 15 1. Selection of Immigration and Refugee Board Members ............................. 16 a. Assessments ........................................................................................................... 18 2. Reappointment of Immigration and Refugee Board Members ................ 20 3. Issues with the Current Appointment Process .............................................. 20 a. Diversity in the Workforce ............................................................................... 23 b. Competencies ......................................................................................................... 23 B. Training ................................................................................................................................ 26 1. Sensitivity Training at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada .................................................................................................................... 27 vii a. Training for all Immigration and Refugee Board Members ................. 27 b. Training Specific to Each Division ................................................................. 28 2. Concerns Regarding Current Training .............................................................. 30 a. Improvements to Sensitivity Training ......................................................... 31 b. Trauma-informed Training .............................................................................. 33 c. Training on Credibility and Credibility Guidelines .................................. 34 d. Follow-up Training and Complaint-informed Training ........................ 38 e. Assessing Members on Training Received ................................................. 39 f. Need for Mentors ................................................................................................... 39 C. Complaint Procedure ...................................................................................................... 40 1. Code of Conduct for Members of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada .................................................................................................................... 40 2. Decision and Complaint Statistics ....................................................................... 41 3. Protocol Addressing Member Conduct Issues (December 2012 – December 2017) ...................................................................................................... 42 4. Review of Complaint Procedure and Consultation Process ...................... 43 5. Procedures for Making a Complaint about a Member as of 21 December 2017 ................................................................................................. 45 a. Complaint Received and Notice of Receipt ................................................. 46 b. Informal Resolution or Recommendation to the Chairperson ........... 46 c. Chairperson’s Decision to Dismiss Complaint or Continue to the Next Step ................................................................................................................. 46 d. Investigation .......................................................................................................... 47 e. Investigation Report ............................................................................................ 47 f. Consideration of Report and Decision .......................................................... 47 g. Publication of Results ......................................................................................... 47 h. Accommodation of Particular Needs of Vulnerable Persons .............