Some of them have not connected to the system for more than a decade, according to information from CBC, Radio-Canada’s English broadcaster.

Data from the Global Case Management System (GCMS) byIRCC – an internal system used worldwide to process immigration and citizenship applications – show that since last February, 59,456 open, pending or reopened immigration applications have been assigned to 779 former employees or dormant users.

The ministry told CBC that once the user becomes inactive, this means that he no longer uses his system and his accesses are therefore no longer available.

The data also shows when each staff member or user logged into the ministry’s system.

Agents inactive for 15 years

We can publicly identify the employees ofIRCC through codes consisting of a combination of letters and numbers, for example AB12345.

Thus, the oldest connection to the system dates back to October 6, 2006, with one request attributed to a Montreal-based code. In addition, 19 requests were matched to a code or Edmonton employee who last logged into the system on May 9, 2007.

I’m appalled that their system can even do that.said Andrea Bote, who applied for permanent residency in Canada and whose file was addressed to an inactive user.

” How can something like this be ignored for so long? That’s a lot of files going between the cracks. »

Immigration lawyer Jean-Sébastien Boudreault is no longer surprised horror stories.

We used to be able to talk to immigration officers, we could talk to managers, but now there are walls everywhere, we have trouble talking to peoplehe said on Monday morning on the show First the infoon ICI RDI.

Of course, procedures must be put in place, agrees Me Boudreault. But we have introduced so many procedures, put so much distance between the user, the immigrant, his representative and the officials, that we can no longer speak to anyone.

according to him Deadlines no longer make sense. For this reason, he discourages applicants from immigrating follow her case and D’Act fast when the deadlines are displayed on the websiteIRCC Are overwhelmed.

cases around the world

Earlier this year, CBC shared the stories of several people whose cases were lost in limbo after being assigned to a single agent named DM10032. For years their demands remained untouched.

After the report aired, the applicants assigned to that agent – ​​who had become inactive, the ministry confirmed – finally saw progress on their files in the months that followed.

CBC filed a freedom of information request in JanuaryIRCC to get all codes from inactive collaborators or users who have been assigned files.

Finally, in October, the ministry sent the data showing the list of hundreds of codes, a mix of former employees and usernames, that were no longer active as of February 2022.

These codes can be found all over the world: at Canadian Airports, Port Customs and Visa Application Centers, Embassies and Consulates in the United States, Philippines, India, Haiti, Poland, Brazil and Tunisia to name a few.

Ottawa, at the top of the list

Ottawa has the highest number of inactive codes. The federal capital was followed by Edmonton, Vancouver and Sydney in Nova Scotia.

Code SM10353 was the most problematic with 9,540 assigned immigration applications. This former employee or user from Sydney was last logged on March 23, 2021.

The user code is a unique identifier. Once assigned, no other user can have the samestated a spokesman forIRCC. When a user no longer needs to use the system, their code becomes inactive.

The ministry said it could delete user accounts that are no longer operational because it would result in a loss of traceability.

The reason why IRCC assigned records to inactive users or what happens to requests related to these codes is unclear. The ministry has not provided a response to CBC on the matter.

The department clarified that more than one officer may be involved in processing applications and that files may be transferred from one center to another for reasons of efficiency.