GCMS notes remain the only accurate source of knowing the processing details of your application filed with IRCC. GCMS notes can be obtained from IRCC or CBSA. The importance of GCMS notes has been acknowledged as they are often used as evidence before the Federal Court and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The GCMS notes are frequently cited and produced before the Federal Courts and IRB to challenge IRCC’s decisions. In one of the meetings of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Immigration and Citizenship, Mr. Vance P. E. Langford (the then Chair of the Immigration Law Section, Canadian Bar Association) testified that to increase transparency, “[a] suggestion made was to attach the GCMS printout to the rationale for the decision………. That isn’t really hard to do, and that would make it no longer necessary to do an access to information request to get the reasons in order to understand whether this was just not a viable application or whether it should be appealed or redone.”
GCMS notes from IRCC and CBSA, is it the same information?
Both IRCC and CBSA use the Global Case Management System (GCMS) to process the files, and when GCMS notes are requested from either of the agencies, they both release the information stored in the GCMS. Thus, the GCMS notes released, either from IRCC or CBSA, will have the same contents, except that each agency may make different exemptions in the notes, thereby redacting some information. However, most information released is the same.
| * | IRCC | CBSA |
|---|---|---|
| TIME FRAME | 30 days, in accordance with the Access to Information Act, section 7. or 30 days, in accordance with the Privacy Act, section 14. | 30 days, in accordance with the Access to Information Act, section 7. or 30 days, in accordance with the Privacy Act, section 14. |
| CONTENTS | Provides the current status (reasons for refusal, if applicable), processing details, and the officer’s notes. | Provides the current status (reason for refusal, if applicable), processing details, and the officer’s notes. May also include information which may be redacted by IRCC under statutory exemptions. |
| DELIVERY STANDARD | IRCC releases the requested information via email within 30 days for most requests. | CBSA used to release the requested information in electronic format via postal mail, thereby adding 7-10 business days for the delivery. However, post COVID, CBSA too has been releasing the notes via email, thereby releasing the information within 30 days. |
| WORKLOAD | In 2019-2020, IRCC received 116,928 ATIP requests, i.e. 50% of all ATIP requests submitted to federal government institutions, and has experienced unprecedented growth in the number of ATIP requests over the past several years. | The number of ATIP requests received by CBSA between 2019-2020 was 8,223. |
| COMPLAINTS | There were 4,220 complaints filed against IRCC ATIP between 2019-2020. | There were 159 complaints filed against CBSA ATIP between 2019-2020. |
Significant delays in the release of GCMS notes from IRCC.
In 2019-2020, IRCC received 50% of all ATIP requests submitted to federal government institutions, and has experienced unprecedented growth in the number of ATIP requests over the past several years. The total number or requests filed with IRCC between 2019-2020 was 116,928, an increase of 178% since 2014-2015 and an increase of 36% as compared to 2018-2019.
While the importance of GCMS cannot be downplayed for applicants who have their applications under process or have received a refusal, but since 2019, IRCC has been experiencing significant issues in meeting the statutory time frame to release the GCMS notes. From time to time, either the GCMS notes are delayed, or IRCC seeks an extension of 60 or 90 days, pursuant to section 9(1)(a) of the Access to Information Act.
The increase in the number of requests also resulted in increased processing time. IRCC was unable to meet the statutory time frame for 49% of the ATIP requests.
IRCC’s inability to meet the statutory processing time frame led to a surge in complaints filed with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, which on March 11, 2020, initiated a systematic investigation into the department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The report of the investigation will be tabled before the Parliament in 2021.
UPDATE: In the recently concluded systematic investigation against IRCC, the Office of the Information Commissioner on May 26, 2021 tabled its investigation report before the Canadian Parliament. The delays and extensions were highlighted and OIC has held all extensions invalid and based on an incorrect interpretation of s. 9(1)(a).
The report recommends: “Cease the practice of claiming time extensions under paragraph 9(1)(a) based on the number of requests submitted by any one requester.”
Based on this recommendation, the Minister of Immigration had the following response:
“On March 1, 2021, IRCC stopped relying on paragraph 9(1)(a) to claim time extensions based on the collective volume of records responsive to the total number of individual requests made by an individual.”
Currently IRCC is releasing the GCMS notes within 30 days for the majority of the requests.
Conclusion
The GCMS notes remain a vital tool for applicants, to track the progress of their applications as well as understand the reasons for refusal. As the immigration targets increase, the number of requests for GCMS notes will also increase. It is unclear what IRCC has done to ensure that the statutory time frames are met and adequate resources are allocated to meet the increase in the number of ATIP requests.
Until then, requesting GCMS notes from CBSA is an alternate option. GET GCMS is providing all its clients an option to obtain the GCMS notes from either IRCC or CBSA. Once you place your request for GCMS notes (e-GCMS or GCMS+), follow the instructions in the email to exercise your choice to request your notes from CBSA or IRCC.
TRACKING THE APPLICATION – MyCIC account does not accurately inform as to which stage the application is at or why your application was refused. The only accurate way to track your application is through GCMS notes / CBSA notes / CSIS notes. You can order your GCMS / CBSA / CSIS notes online.
DISCLAIMER: Our website contains general legal information. The legal information is not advice and should not be treated as such. The legal information on our website is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied. Further, we do not warrant or represent that the legal information on this website: will be constantly available, or available at all; or is true, accurate, complete, current or non-misleading. No lawyer-client, solicitor-client or attorney-client relationship shall be created through the use of our website.
