Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Information Sharing): SOR/2024-257

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 158, Number 26

Registration
SOR/2024-257 December 9, 2024

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT

P.C. 2024-1296 December 9, 2024

Whereas, under subsection 5(2)footnote a of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act footnote b, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has caused a copy of the proposed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Information Sharing) to be laid before each House of Parliament;

Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Information Sharing) under subsection 5(1) and section 150.1footnote c of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act footnote b.

Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Information Sharing)

Amendments

1 The heading of Division 1 of Part 19.1 of the English version of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations footnote 1 is replaced by the following:

Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for the Sharing of Visa and Immigration Information

2 The definitions Agreement and national of a third country in section 315.21 of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

Agreement
means the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for the Sharing of Visa and Immigration Information, signed on December 13, 2012, as amended by the Agreement to Amend the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for the Sharing of Visa and Immigration Information, signed on July 19, 2024. (Accord)
national of a third country
means a person who is neither a Canadian citizen nor a citizen or national of the United States. (ressortissant d’un pays tiers)

3 Paragraph 315.23(2)(d) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Coming into Force

4 These Regulations come into force on the day on which the Agreement to Amend the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for the Sharing of Visa and Immigration Information, signed on July 19, 2024, enters into force.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Both Canada and the United States’ (U.S.) immigration programs have evolved since the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for the Sharing of Visa and Immigration Information (the Agreement) was signed in 2012. Canada is pursuing efforts to transform its visitor program and move towards more individualized, risk-based screening. This approach endeavours to screen more travellers at the earliest point in the travel continuum, improving the security and safety of Canada, while also facilitating travel to Canada for lower-risk travellers.

The Agreement to Amend the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for the Sharing of Visa and Immigration Information (the Amending Agreement) was negotiated to include permanent residents (PR) of both countries. This change requires amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the Regulations) to bring the Amending Agreement into force in Canada, allowing Canada to provide information to the U.S. concerning PRs of Canada.

Background

Canada has long recognized that sharing immigration information with trusted partners enhances the integrity of its immigration programs. Such sharing provides decision-makers with additional information to assist in assessing the potential risk to Canada posed by an applicant and the risk to the integrity of the immigration system, thereby assisting in combating immigration fraud, protecting Canada’s security interests, and facilitating the legitimate movement of people. Canada has engaged in manual information sharing activities with the U.S. since 2003, followed by automated biographic-based information sharing in 2013, and automated biometric-based information sharing in 2015.

Automated information sharing has become a pillar of Canada-U.S. cooperation to secure the North American perimeter while facilitating the movement of legitimate travellers across the Canada-U.S. border. Authority for Canada to disclose information to — and receive information from — the U.S. is implemented via the Regulations. Currently, the Regulations allow for these exchanges to be conducted in support of an application submitted by an individual who is neither a citizen or permanent resident of Canada or the U.S., such as, but not limited to, visitors, study permit holders, and temporary foreign workers.

The Amending Agreement, signed on 19 July 2024, resulted in an expanded scope of the Agreement that now permits automated exchange of information on PRs of both Canada and the U.S. This is a clear and tangible demonstration of the countries’ trusted partnership that meets the evolving needs of Canada’s immigration programs. Amendments to the Regulations, permitting Canada to provide the U.S. with information on Canadian PRs in an automated manner, are now required to bring the Amending Agreement into force in Canada. Once the Amending Agreement is implemented, Canada will in return obtain information from the U.S. concerning United States Lawful Permanent Residents (USLPRs).

Objective

This amendment, which would allow for the Amending Agreement to be implemented by Canada, would strengthen the Government of Canada’s ability to identify individuals who are ineligible, inadmissible, or both, at the earliest opportunity. This change will improve the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and the safety and security of Canadians. Timely access to current and accurate information on USLPRs is critical to inform inadmissibility assessments and other immigration-related determinations that are vital to Canada and the U.S.’s common security and will promote strong bilateral relations.

Description

For the purposes of the Division on the Agreement Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for the Sharing of Visa and Immigration Information, the Regulations amend the following definitions in the Regulations:

The Regulations are amended to allow the Minister to disclose information in response to a query made by the U.S. concerning nationals of a third country who have been issued or denied a document required to enter Canada as a temporary or permanent resident.

Regulatory development

Consultation

Consultations were conducted with federal partners, including the Canada Border Services Agency, Public Safety Canada, and Global Affairs Canada, all of whom expressed their support for this change. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has also consulted the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) regarding privacy considerations pertaining to the implementation of the Amending Agreement. IRCC will adhere to the recommendations stemming from these consultations, including updates to the implementing arrangements and privacy impact assessments.

A prepublication comment period in the Canada Gazette, Part I, was not undertaken as this regulatory amendment concerns an international treaty.

Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation

No modern treaty implications are anticipated because Indigenous peoples in Canada are not impacted by the proposal.

Instrument choice

Immigration requirements for entry to Canada are prescribed by the Regulations, therefore amending the Regulations is the only option to make this change.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

An important first step in developing a cost-benefit methodology is establishing a baseline scenario against which options may be measured. For this analysis, the baseline scenario is one wherein Canada and the U.S. continue to share immigration information on applicants for asylum, permanent and temporary residence, and enforcement cases, and where that information sharing is restricted to individuals who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of Canada or the U.S. The information exchanged is intended to serve as additional information for officers to utilize when making decisions on applications. The baseline scenario is then compared with the regulatory scenario, in which permanent residents will be brought into the scope of the Agreement, thus enabling automated information sharing with regards to permanent residents of both Canada and the U.S.

The proposed regulations will result in both transition and ongoing costs to IRCC to implement and monitor the changes and are estimated at $2.61M over 10 periods. There will also be qualitative costs to IRCC, as the Department will likely incur additional transactional costs for both inbound and outbound queries, and the resultant responses. Benefits of the proposal are also qualitatively discussed, and include benefits to IRCC as a result of more efficient application processing, enhanced program integrity, a reduction in fraud, and stronger bilateral relations with the U.S. It is expected that these benefits will outweigh the costs of the regulatory proposal.

Costs to IRCC

Incremental costs to IRCC will consist of both transition and ongoing costs and are estimated at $2.61M over 10 periods. Transition costs are estimated at $0.99M and include costs to implement the technical IT solution which will facilitate data exchange on permanent residents across multiple business lines. Further transition costs will also include costs for communications products, project management costs, and updates to program delivery instructions and other administrative materials.

Ongoing costs to IRCC are estimated at $1.61M over 10 periods and reflect the additional cost burden of maintaining the new data exchange channel and ongoing engagement with U.S. partners.

Currently, as data exchange on permanent residents is beyond the scope of the existing Agreement, when Canada inadvertently submits a query that pertains to a permanent resident of the U.S., the U.S. sends back a response that they have nil to report in relation to the query. Similarly, in cases where the U.S. unintentionally queries Canada on a Canadian permanent resident, Canada also sends back a response that we have nil to report in relation to the query. Each query and response has a cost to IRCC. Following a nil response to the initial query, subsequent automated queries are not submitted. Once the regulatory proposal is implemented, Canada and the U.S. will have the authority to share data on permanent residents, and therefore the volume of nil responses sent and received when permanent residents are queried will decrease as match responses are transmitted instead. This will result in an increase in the volume of transactions as further automated exchanges are subsequently initiated. There is no way to quantify the current volume of inadvertent queries on permanent residents, since nil responses can be for various reasons, not solely because the individual queried is a permanent resident; therefore, it is not possible to monetize the impact of the increase in queries that would be realized following implementation of the regulatory proposal.

Furthermore, once the regulatory proposal takes effect, Canada and the U.S. will also begin purposefully querying permanent residents. This will represent an increase in query volumes. However, since it is not currently mandatory for applicants to provide their permanent resident number with their applications, nor is there any incentive to do so, it is not possible to quantify how many additional queries on permanent residents Canada may submit or receive following the regulatory changes.

Benefits to IRCC

The regulatory proposal will present many benefits for IRCC. Currently, permanent residents are not included in the scope of the Agreement, and therefore automated information sharing between Canada and the U.S. concerning permanent residents of either country is not permitted. The regulatory amendments will bring permanent residents into scope and benefit IRCC by enhancing program integrity across multiple business lines.

Timely access to current and accurate information is critical to inform both eligibility and admissibility assessments. Therefore, automated exchange on the permanent resident population will allow IRCC to make these assessments more quickly, as officers will not have to spend as much manual effort to gather this information from partners and clients before making a decision on applications. Instead, IRCC will be able to focus its resources on higher-risk populations, thus further enhancing efficiency across multiple business lines.

In both Canada and the U.S., having confirmation of an applicant’s permanent resident status in the other country implies that a certain level of screening from a trusted partner has already occurred. While each country reserves its authority to render its own immigration decisions, knowing that applicants have already been sufficiently vetted to obtain status in a partner country can provide some level of confidence.

The regulatory amendments will also allow IRCC to collect more information on traveller behaviour; specifically, which applicants exhibit lower-risk behavioural patterns. Additional information concerning these travellers, their history of compliance and associated demographics will assist with ongoing work to more readily facilitate travel to Canada.

Automated exchange of permanent resident data will be a valuable tool to further the objectives of the 2021 Roadmap for a Renewed Canada-U.S. Partnership (the Roadmap), through access to U.S.-held information on USLPRs applying to come to, or remain within, Canada. Implementing the regulatory proposal will help promote strong bilateral relations between Canada and the U.S., as any measures to further the commitment laid out in the Roadmap for a Renewed Canada-U.S. Partnership is viewed as an additional concrete enhancement to North American perimeter security.

Benefits to the Canada Border Services Agency

Following the enactment of the regulatory amendments, there will also be benefits to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Currently, Canada does not receive data from the U.S. on USLPRs seeking to enter the country. Once the regulatory amendments are implemented, Canada will have more timely access to this information, allowing Canadian officers to refuse inadmissible individuals prior to entry to Canada. This will thereby reduce enforcement-related expenses as these individuals will not have to be removed at a later date. It is not possible to quantify the magnitude of this impact since the CBSA does not track clients by USLPR status.

Benefits to Canadians

The proposed amendments will also benefit Canadians more broadly. By receiving information on USLPRs, Canada will be able to validate the legitimacy of individuals and prevent entry into, or ability to remain in, Canada of individuals who are ineligible, inadmissible, or both, at the earliest opportunity. This would improve the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and strengthen the security of Canadians by identifying these individuals before they reach ports of entry.

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the proposed regulations would not impact businesses.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply, as there is no incremental change in administrative burden on small business.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The Canadian and U.S. governments released in 2012 a Joint Statement of Privacy Principles to signal their shared commitment to protecting privacy. The Privacy Principles are based on commonly understood privacy protections, fair information practices, and are consistent with the laws of each country. The Privacy Principles also underscore the importance of immigration information sharing to the security of both nations without sacrificing the fundamental rights and civil liberties that both countries value.

Immigration information sharing under the Regulations will be consistent with the Privacy Principles and will support Canada–U.S. cooperation as identified in the Beyond the Border Action Plan (the Action Plan) and the Roadmap for a Renewed Canada-U.S. Partnership. This includes establishing a common approach to perimeter screening that promotes security and border efficiency, as well as strengthening information sharing to improve our respective prevention strategies addressing domestic violent extremism and enhancing reciprocal sharing on known and suspected threats.

This proposal is not related to a work plan or commitment under a formal regulatory cooperation forum.

Effects on the environment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment (SEEA Directive), a preliminary scan concluded that an SEEA is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

No impacts based on gender and other identity factors have been identified for this proposal.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

These Regulations come into force on the day on which the Amending Agreement enters into force.

Once both Canada and the U.S. have authority within their domestic law to conduct the exchanges, the necessary technical changes will be completed. IT changes include integration of PRs into the existing automated information sharing system, testing, and deployment. Information exchanges can begin once the technical changes are complete, which could be as early as July 2025. There are no client facing changes required to implement this regulatory amendment.

Existing information sharing with the U.S. is subject to the performance, quality assurance and privacy frameworks outlined in the implementing arrangements. Once the regulatory amendments and Amending Agreement come into force, information sharing on PRs will be subject to the existing performance, quality assurance and privacy frameworks.

Contact

Victoria Henderson
Executive Director
Admissibility Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Email: Victoria.Henderson@cic.gc.ca