Status Report on Transformational and Major Crown Projects

Project name: Passport Program Modernization Initiative (PPMI)

Description

The PPMI will implement the transition of accountability for the Passport Canada Program to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and modernize the business to address future demands. The initiative encompasses three major deliverables, namely:

  • Transfer of the Passport Canada Program to IRCC and Employment and Social Development Canada;
  • Transition of the legacy passport issuance system to the Global Case Management System (GCMS); and
  • Modernization of the Passport Program by streamlining business processes, enhancing security and integrity, expanding the service delivery network and offering online services.

Project outcomes

The PPMI will:

  • increase access to services for Canadians (online and expanded in-person network);
  • strengthen program security and integrity of passport entitlement and issuance processes; and
  • increase program efficiencies.

Industrial benefits

Not applicable

Sponsoring department

IRCC

Contracting authority

IRCC

Participating departments

  • Employment and Social Development Canada
  • Global Affairs Canada
  • Shared Services Canada

Prime contractor

Not applicable

Major subcontractors

Not applicable

Project phase

Planning

(Next gate – Gate 5: Detailed Project Plan and Functional Specifications)

Major milestones

  • May 2015: Obtained Project Approval and Expenditure Authority for Phase I (amended) and Phase II.
  • May 2015: GCMS Passport Module developed and initial testing performed.
  • November 2015: Pilot launch of online renewal applications (delayed).
  • March 2016: Full launch of online renewal applications (delayed).
  • October 2016: Controlled environment testing of live data in GCMS launched.

Progress report and explanation of variances

  • Initially, the PPMI project was approved with an estimated cost of $101.3 million (including $4.2 million in HST).
  • In May 2015, additional authorities were granted to the PPMI project to support a change in the project deployment plan. The total cost is now estimated at $176 million (including $7.8 million in HST).
  • The PPMI project is running under budget due to delays in deployment activities. The project schedule is under review and planned activities are being resequenced to occur at a later date.
  • The intended business objectives of the project will be achieved as modernized business processes and technology are deployed across the service delivery network. A deployment schedule will be developed pending the completion of business transformation planning activities.
  • The PPMI project was planned for completion by June 2018. This date is subject to revision once revised planning is completed.

Project name: Biometrics Expansion Project

Description

Budget 2015 provided funding to expand biometrics collection, screening and verification to all temporary resident visa, work permit, study permit and temporary resident permit applicants (excluding citizens of the United States) and all permanent resident applicants. This includes systematic verification of fingerprints of these travellers through self-service kiosks upon arrival at major airports, in-Canada enrolment services, and biometric information sharing with Canada’s Five Country Conference (FCC) partners (the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) to strengthen the decision-making process.

The costs of expanding biometrics screening are expected to be fully recovered through the existing biometrics fee.

IRCC is the lead department in managing this project in collaboration with its primary delivery partners, the Canada Border Service Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Shared Services Canada.

Project outcomes

Building on the Temporary Resident Biometrics Project and the Beyond the Border Action Plan, biometrics expansion supports the Government’s outcome of strong economic growth and long-term prosperity by improving the integrity and security of the immigration system. More specifically:

  • The expanded collection and screening of biometrics information will add a more secure and reliable identity element to a wider range of applicants. Immigration information sharing with FCC partners will further enhance identity management by providing officers with more information to confirm an applicant’s identity and detect cases of identity fraud or inadmissibility.
  • Broader fingerprint collection at the application stage will allow for more applicants to be screened against records of known criminals, past refugee claimants, persons previously deported and previous immigration applicants, to assist officers in the admissibility decision-making process at the application stage. Immigration information sharing will also contribute further to admissibility screening by providing officers with access to a wider range of immigration data.
  • The expanded collection, screening, verification and sharing of biometrics will simplify confirmation of a traveller’s identity, reduce the need for more in-depth questioning at the application and arrival stages and facilitate the processing of low-risk returning applicants both overseas and upon arrival in Canada. More efficient and effective identity management is one of a number of key enablers in support of ongoing processing improvements that will allow IRCC to increasingly automate service delivery.

Industrial benefits

The Biometrics Expansion Project will improve the safety and security of Canadian citizens. To support the Government of Canada outcomes for strong economic growth and a safe and secure world, the project must maintain a balance between the desire to welcome newcomers to Canada and the obligation to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians. Criminals, security threats and other known inadmissible persons must not be allowed to enter or remain in Canada.

Sponsoring department

IRCC

Contracting authority

Public Services and Procurement Canada

Participating departments

  • Canada Border Services Agency
  • Royal Canadian Mounted Police
  • Shared Services Canada

Prime contractor

While procurement processes are under way as part of the Biometrics Expansion Project, current prime contractors are:

  • Fujitsu Consulting (Canada) Inc., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – Technical Solution
  • VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd, Port Louis, Mauritius – Service Delivery
  • Computer Sciences Canada Inc., Kanata, Ontario, Canada – Service Delivery
  • 3M Cogent Inc., Pasadena, California, U.S.A. – Technical Solution

Major subcontractors

Aware, Inc., Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Project phase

The Biometrics Expansion Project is currently in Phase 2, which involves detailing requirements, solidifying strategies and plans for defining, building and deploying the expanded biometrics solution, and information sharing. Phase 2 commenced in April 2016.

Major milestones

Major milestones:

  • June 2015: Received project approval and commenced project.
  • June 2015: Received Royal Assent of legislative amendments to expand authority for biometric information collection.
  • June 2016: Completed updated project management documentation and received approval to begin Phase 2.
  • December 2016: Completed the procurement process and awarded the contract for the enhanced fingerprint identification system.
  • March 2017: Complete and publish the necessary regulatory changes for information sharing with FCC partners.
  • April 2017 to June 2018: Begin biometric-based information sharing with FCC partners (actual start dates to be negotiated for each country).
  • November 2017: Deploy equipment, undertake training and commence biometric enrolment at in-Canada service points.
  • November 2017: Complete procurement process and award contract(s) for visa application centres.
  • March 2018: Complete and publish the necessary regulatory changes for exchange of information on criminal removals with FCC partners.
  • March 2018: Begin sharing of information on criminal removals with FCC partners.
  • May 2018: Complete and publish the necessary regulatory changes for expanded authority to collect biometric information from additional nationalities and business lines.
  • October 2017 to May 2018: Finalize project privacy impact assessments.
  • July 2018: Begin increased biometric-based information sharing with the U.S.
  • July 2018: Commence biometric enrolment at all service points and expanded verification at certain points of entry into Canada for the expanded nationalities and business lines.
  • March 2019: Begin systematic fingerprint verification at major airports.

Progress report and explanation of variances

Initial funding for the Biometrics Expansion Project was announced in Budget 2015 (April 2015), and approval of estimated costs of $312.6 million over five years, and $103.2 million ongoing, was granted in June 2015. An approved amount of $133.9 million excluding HST was allocated for the planning, development and deployment of the Biometrics Expansion Project.

To implement the project, an amount of $130.8 million is from the approved new funding from Budget 2015, another $3.1 million comes from existing reference levels, for a total of $133.9 million before HST.

Significant progress has been made to achieve the planning objectives set out in Phase 1, and the development objectives set out in Phase 2 are well under way.

In developing the detailed project schedule, it became apparent that some activities would need to be deferred due to circumstances beyond the control of the project and in order to better align deliverables and dependencies. For example, IRCC and Public Services and Procurement Canada will need to reinitiate the procurement process for the Visa Application Centre network following the cancellation of the initial process when the results of the process did not meet IRCC’s project goals. Additionally, the in-Canada service channel has been deferred due to a delay in obtaining mandate authority for Service Canada to deliver biometrics collection services on behalf of IRCC. As such, completion of some planned Phase 2 activities will continue past March 2017. The deferral of activities in Phase 1 and 2 will not affect the start of Phase 3 of the project or planned go-live dates.

While project costs are increasing due to unforeseen delays, revised assumptions and further substantiation of costs, ongoing costs are decreasing, thus allowing the total cost to remain within the five-year funding announced in Budget 2015. Amended project approval will be sought as appropriate for revised cost estimates.

Page details

Date modified: