Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Memorandum of Understanding

To establish the basis of cooperation regarding the delivery of the immigration and refugee program with respect to matters within the mandate of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

BETWEEN

THE DEPARTMENT OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
represented by the Deputy Minister of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and herein referred to as “CIC”

AND

THE CANADA BORDER SERVICES AGENCY
represented by the President of the Canada Border Services Agency and herein referred to as the “CBSA”

AND

THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE BOARD OF CANADA
represented by the Chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and herein referred to as the “IRB”

Hereinafter jointly referred to as the “Parties.”

Introduction

WHEREAS the Parties are Government of Canada institutions with a common commitment to realizing the goals of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27 (IRPA);

WHEREAS the Parties are key organizations within the immigration and refugee portfolio and share responsibilities in managing the envelope of resources dedicated to that portfolio;

WHEREAS CIC is responsible for attracting and welcoming people from all parts of the world, enriching the economic, social and cultural development of Canada while contributing to the health, safety and security of Canadians, protecting those in need of Canada’s protection and providing for the granting of citizenship, through the administration of both the IRPA and the Citizenship Act;

WHEREAS the CBSAwas created by Order in Council on December 12, 2003, and immigration enforcement and intelligence responsibilities under the IRPA were transferred from CIC to the CBSA, and whereas the CBSA is responsible for providing integrated border services that support national security, public safety and trade, which is achieved through the administration and enforcement of various acts, including the IRPA, to facilitate the free flow of persons and goods to and from Canada;

WHEREAS CIC and the CBSA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on March 27, 2006, to define, in general terms, the basis for cooperation between CIC and the CBSA regarding the delivery of the immigration program, information sharing and the provision of various services within their respective mandates;

WHEREAS CIC and the CBSA are responsible for the employment of best practices in administering their responsibilities under the IRPA and its Regulations in a manner that reflects the domestic and international interests of the Government of Canada and recognizes the objectives set out in section 3 of the IRPA;

WHEREAS the IRB is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal, established by the Parliament of Canada to resolve immigration and refugee matters efficiently, fairly and in accordance with the law;

WHEREAS the IRB reports to Parliament through the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the CBSA reports to the Minister of Public Safety;

AND WHEREAS CIC and the IRB share an Administrative Framework Agreement, which came into effect on December 13, 1996, under which various sub-agreements were adopted:

• Information Sharing Agreement between the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and the Immigration and Refugee Board, 1997
• Priorities Coordination Agreement between the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and the Immigration and Refugee Board, 1997
• Agreement Regarding Claim-Related Information from Refugee Claimants between the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and the Immigration and Refugee Board, 1999
• Memorandum of Understanding on Information Exchange between the Documentation, Information and Research Branch, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and Refugees Branch of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, August 1997

Therefore the parties agree as follows:

Purpose

1. This Memorandum of Understanding establishes the administrative framework that will facilitate:

• the sharing of information between CIC and the IRB and between the CBSA and the IRB, with respect to matters within the mandate of the IRB; and
• cooperation on administrative measures with respect to matters within the mandate of the IRB.

2. CIC and the IRB agree that, on the date on which this MOU comes into effect, the Administrative Framework Agreement between CIC and the IRB, which came into effect on December 13, 1996, is terminated.

3. The Parties agree that the existing sub-agreements under the Administrative Framework Agreement will continue in effect under this MOU, in accordance with section 18 below.

Principles

4. While undertaking to share information and cooperate on administrative measures, the Parties recognize the institutional independence of the IRB. The IRB is a tribunal before which the CBSA and CIC appear as parties. Nothing in this MOU or any of its annexes will be interpreted in a manner that infringes, or could be reasonably seen to infringe, on the institutional independence of the IRB. Moreover, the Parties will take no actions that impinge, or could be reasonably seen to impinge, on the independence of the IRB’s decision-makers in individual cases.

5. The Parties agree to, where appropriate, share information and cooperate on administrative measures with respect to matters within the mandate of the IRB regarding:

• the enhancement of administrative efficiency, while respecting the principles of fairness and natural justice;
• the identification and clarification of roles and responsibilities in administering the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA);
• the sharing and integration of best practices developed within each organization;
• the provision of improved and cost-effective services to the public;
• the establishment of effective lines of communication; and
• the enhancement of national security.

Sharing of information

6. CIC and the CBSA agree to share with the IRB, and the IRB agrees to share with CIC and the CBSA, where appropriate, such information as is required to carry out their respective mandates as derived from the IRPA.

7. The Parties recognize that any sharing of information under this MOU must be carried out in accordance with any applicable legislation or policy requirements.

Communication and consultation

8. The Parties recognize that regular and timely communication and consultation are key elements in achieving the purposes of this MOU.

9. Key areas for communication and consultation may include:

• emerging trends, actual and projected workloads, workload priorities and productivity issues insofar as these have an impact on the Parties;
• notification when there are changes in identified resource requirements with respect to issues of mutual interest or where a Party is unable to meet workload demand;
• major initiatives, including legislative and regulatory proposals or proposed rule changes, policy proposals or new administrative procedures, that may have a meaningful impact on the administrative functioning of the other Parties; and
• issues arising from any cost or service-sharing component of this MOU.

10. The Parties will endeavour to communicate and consult as appropriate, especially in relation to new initiatives or program changes with potential impacts for the other Parties.

Steering committee

11. The Parties agree to establish a Steering Committee to oversee the elements of this MOU and resolve significant issues of interpretation or application arising from this MOU. Details regarding the composition of this Committee and its meeting schedule are provided in Appendix A, as amended from time to time.

Annexes

12. The Parties agree to negotiate annexes under this MOU, which will be negotiated and interpreted in accordance with the principles of this MOU.

13. Approved annexes will be identified in Appendix B, as amended from time to time. Additional subject areas for annexes may be identified in the future by the Steering Committee.

14. The Parties to these annexes will be either the IRB and one of the other Parties to this MOU, or, where appropriate, all three Parties to this MOU.

15. Where an annex does not specify a consultation process, the consultation process set out in this MOU will apply to that annex as between the relevant Parties.

Existing sub-agreements

16. The Parties agree that, where applicable, the existing sub-agreements listed in the Introduction will continue to apply to the Parties according to their respective mandates, to the extent that they do not conflict with this MOU, in which case this MOU will prevail.

17. The existing sub-agreements will be interpreted in the spirit of, and governed by, the principles contained in this MOU, and any issues of interpretation or application will fall under the responsibility of the Steering Committee.

18. The existing sub-agreements will remain in effect either until such time as the Parties enter into new annexes under this MOU to replace them or until an existing sub-agreement is terminated in accordance with the terms of that sub-agreement or this MOU.

19. Where an existing sub-agreement does not specify a consultation process, the consultation process set out in this MOU will apply to that sub-agreement.

Designated officials

20. The following designated officials for the Parties have overall administrative responsibility for this MOU and its Appendices A and B.

Dispute resolution

21. Any disagreement with respect to this MOU that cannot be resolved through consultation between the Parties will be referred to the Steering Committee for resolution. If those officials are not able to resolve the disagreement, it will be resolved by the persons occupying the positions of the signatories to this MOU.

22.Where an annex or an existing sub-agreement does not specify a dispute resolution process, the dispute resolution process set out in this MOU will apply to that annex or existing sub-agreement as between the relevant Parties.

Financial arrangements

23. Each Party is responsible for its own costs associated with activities under this MOU, unless otherwise stated in a specific annex.

Administrative details

Review

24. The Parties agree to review this MOU no later than two years from the date on which the MOU takes effect and every two years thereafter.

Date in effect

25. This MOU will come into effect on the date on which it is signed by the last of the Parties [April 21, 2008] and will remain in effect until it is terminated in accordance with the procedure set out in this MOU.

Amendment

26. This MOU may be amended at any time, by mutual consent of the Parties, through an exchange of letters between the persons occupying the positions of the signatories to this MOU.

27. Where an annex or an existing sub-agreement does not specify an amending process, the process set out in this MOU will apply to that annex or existing sub-agreement as between the relevant Parties.

Audit, evaluation and quality assurance

28. Without restricting each Party’s ability to conduct audits and evaluations for their respective policy and service delivery responsibilities, the heads of Internal Audit bodies for CIC, the IRB and the CBSA will work collaboratively in conducting horizontal audits and evaluations. This collaboration will include:

• Sharing audit and evaluation plans on an annual basis;
• Consulting at each step of horizontal audits and evaluations, from planning to final report, where the audit or evaluation relates to shared delivery or impacts on a business process of the partner organizations; this consultation includes sharing draft reports, providing opportunities for feedback on findings and recommendations and facilitating management responses.

29. While quality assurance can be a component of an audit, quality assurance activities related to specific business processes are the responsibility of the program area. All three Parties will be responsible for implementing and administering quality assurance activities within their respective organizations and for sharing the results with the appropriate program or policy area of all three Parties where it will promote organizational learning across the immigration program.

Security of information

30. Each Party is responsible for ensuring that the standards and requirements of the Government Security Policy for the safeguarding of sensitive information and assets under their control and the Operational Standard for the Security of Information Act are met.

Termination

31. This MOU may be terminated by mutual consent of the Parties, through an exchange of letters between the persons occupying the positions of the signatories to this MOU.

32. The IRB may terminate this MOU with either or both Parties by providing 90 days written notice to the other Parties of its intention to terminate the MOU. If the IRB terminates this MOU with only one of the Parties under this provision, this MOU will remain in effect as between the IRB and the remaining Party.

33. CIC or the CBSA may terminate its part in this MOU by providing 90 days written notice to the other Parties of its intention to withdraw from the MOU. Upon the withdrawal of either Party under this provision, the MOU will remain in effect as between the IRB and the remaining Party.

34. Where an annex or an existing sub-agreement does not specify a termination process, the process set out in this MOU will apply to that annex or existing sub-agreement as between the relevant Parties.

IN WITNESS THEREOF, this Memorandum of Understanding, in both official languages, was signed in triplicate, each copy being equally authentic.

FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION

_________________________________
Richard B. Fadden
Deputy Minister of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration

FOR THE CANADA BORDER SERVICES AGENCY

_________________________________
Alain Jolicoeur
President of the Canada Border Services Agency

FOR THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE BOARD OF CANADA

_________________________________
Brian Goodman
Chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

APPENDIX A

Steering committee

1. The Parties agree to establish a Steering Committee comprised of representatives of each Party to oversee the elements of this MOU and resolve significant issues of interpretation or application arising from it.

2. The Steering Committee shall be comprised of the following representatives:

IRB:
Director General, Operations,
Director General, Communications and Partnerships

CIC:
Director General, Refugees Branch,
Director General, Operational Management and Coordination

CBSA:
Director General, Programs and Operational Services Directorate,
Director General, Enforcement Programs Directorate

3. The Steering Committee shall meet as required to address issues pertaining to this MOU, but at least once per year beginning on the date on which this MOU comes into effect.

APPENDIX B

List of approved annexes